A New Route
by rebelturtle9-1-3
Summary: Something strange happens after Sayori is deleted. Now she's fallen into a new environment with no clue how she's gotten there. Luckily, a seemingly harmless detective has her back. Soon a new mystery arises, connections are made, and Sayori has to decide. Who should she trust? Unfortunately, not everything is as it seems.
1. Prologue

Darkness. The beginning of the end. She begins to remember something from her past.

"The colors, they won't stop."

Falling, endless falling.

"Bright, beautiful colors

Flashing, expanding, piercing"

Her consciousness is fleeting. The sensations are overwhelming.

"Red, green, blue"

A feeling arises, but what is it? It is beyond anything she can comprehend.

"An endless

cacophony

Of meaningless

noise"

She lands with a resounding thud upon the pavement. She is in a place near-incomprehensible to her in her current mental state. Her friends are nowhere to be found. While she does not know it now, this is the beginning of a new journey, one that must be undertaken for the fate of two worlds.

A new beginning.


	2. Chapter 1

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

Her fractured senses slowly came back to her. It started with a slight awareness in the back of her head, telling her that something wasn't right. Then she began to remember. _Today's the festival!_ She had to get up. Feeling came flooding back into her body as she sat up. The pain that followed forced her back down. It was only when her head connected with the hard sidewalk and _not_ her pillow that she realized she was no longer in her room.

Sayori's eyes shot open as she bolted upright. Instead of the morning sun streaming through her window, she found herself in a busy street, a huge city and the night sky as a backdrop. All around her people walked by, some pausing to look at her briefly. Sayori soon understood why.

A pane of glass in a nearby store reflected the sight of her, adorned in her favorite pair of pink pajamas, now torn around her shoulders. When she looked closer to inspect the tearing, she noticed something that nearly made her heart beat out of her chest. A large wound made a ring around her neck. A mix of purple and blue bruises and red scrapes made for a painful combo upon her curious touch. She had no idea where it came from.

Sayori took deep breaths. She couldn't panic right now. She couldn't cause a scene. Not when she needed help. She turned her chin inward and tried to rearrange her short hair to cover the wound. Once confident that the wound was hidden, she looked around and went to the nearest person she could find, a short, balding man in a yellow business suit.

"Excuse me," Sayori asked politely. "Could you tell me where I am?" The man's stern glare evaporated any courage that Sayori had built up. The man pointed to a nearby street sign and stomped away. _Well, that was uncalled for,_ Sayori sighed. Her best option at the moment would probably be to walk around and hope to find either a familiar landmark, or a bus to get home. She shivered, wishing she had at least put on slippers, and began to walk down the street.

About ten blocks later, Sayori realized something. She was hopelessly lost. The bitter shock of this revelation made her want to crumble. A nearby bench caught her eye. She didn't want to have a meltdown on the cold ground, afterall. She sat down, before folding her knees to her chest. It didn't take long for her small frame to start shaking as she sobbed and wailed. The sound of a clearing throat was the first thing that registered in her mind, at least enough to make her look up.

* * *

Akechi yawned. It had been another long day. The pressure of juggling school, work, and the fame of being "The Second Advent of the Detective Prince" always seemed to leave him exhausted. _It'll all be worth it in the end,_ he thought to himself. These musings paraded in his head as he dragged his suitcase to the nearest bus stop. Normally, he would've taken his bike. However, his alarm clock had died this morning, causing him to be late. In his hurry to get ready he ran out of the apartment without his bike, and did not realize it till a few blocks later. He was looking forward to getting a few minutes to sit down on the bench and rest.

As Akechi came around the last corner, something disappointing caught his eye. There was somebody already on the bench. Those feelings of disappointment would fade, however, as he took a few steps closer. As he approached the bench, a peculiar feeling took hold. It was a disturbing combination of guilt and sorrow as he noticed something on the back of the girl's neck. Memories of a woman he had cursed with his existence arose as he gazed upon the injury which could only have one origin. All of this came from the crying girl, who seemed to be lost in her own sadness. With his mind made, he cleared his throat.

The girl paused, before she looked back at him. Akechi was finally able to get a good look at her. He had never seen anyone with pink hair before. The red bow that was clipped to it contrasted the miserable defeat reflected in her entrancing blue eyes. She appeared to be dressed for bed more than a stroll through town. A seemingly endless list of questions started to fly into his brain. Instead of asking any of these, he decided on a rather pointless question.

"Are you alright?" _Stupid, stupid, stupid,_ he chastised himself. Of course she wasn't alright! She has rope burn around her neck, and looks like she's ready to go jump off a bridge!

"Oh, you don't need to worry about me. It doesn't really matter if I am," the girl replied with a most pitiful tone of voice. Akechi was surprised she actually answered him, in her state of being. He was even more shocked when she continued. "Can you tell me where I am? I'm… lost," she said, blushing deeply as she started to bury her face even deeper into her knees.

 _Ah, I've found a niche,_ Akechi thought triumphantly. "Perhaps if you tell me your name, we could find our way to your house." He decided to break the ice a bit more himself, in order to not creep out the young lady. "My name is Goro Akechi. I'm a detective. What's your name?"

The girl's head rose from its sorrowful position. "Sayori," she said with a whisper.

Akechi smiled, deciding to be a bit more specific. "What about a surname? Because _Sayori_ is awfully close to _Sayuri_ , and that could get confusing." he explained.

Sayori shut her eyes tightly. "I don't know," she replied with tears welling in her eyes. Akechi finally let a frown slip onto his face. Did this girl have amnesia?

He set his briefcase down. The bus would be here soon, and he would lose sleep if he were to let an obviously suicidal girl wander around unattended. For now, there was only one thing he could really do until this case could be solved. He sat down by Sayori and smiled kindly. "Would you like to stay with me until we can figure things out?" He let that question sink in, fully prepared to further explain himself. If she felt uncomfortable in his apartment, perhaps he could convince Sae to take the girl to hers.

* * *

Sayori weighed her options. Go with the charming boy with seemingly good intentions and a job that probably offered good income, versus stay out in the cold and wait for death to slowly overtake her. Steeling herself, she smiled up at him, hoping that this wouldn't turn out to be a horrible mistake. "I'd really like that. Thank you."

Goro Akechi smiled at her as they both stood up. Before she could protest, he had taken off his jacket and draped it over her. Her arms weren't even in the sleeves all the way before he started buttoning it. Sayori gave him a confused look as he popped the collar. He noticed before pointing to her neck. "This will do a better job of covering that bruise up. When we get back to my apartment I can clean it off. I'm willing to bet that it stings a lot."

Sayori nodded sheepishly. Akechi smiled, going around the bench and grabbing his briefcase. As if on cue the bus finally turned the corner. Since it was so late nobody else was on the bus. Sayori took a seat toward the back while Akechi gave directions to the bus driver. After he gave her a generous tip, the woman agreed to take both of them straight to his apartment complex instead of the bus stop that was a couple blocks away. Sayori appreciated that.

After Sayori settled into her seat, she allowed her mind to drift. She felt exhausted. A sudden wave of drowsiness made her fall asleep with her head leaning on the glass. It irritated the large bruise she had gotten on her forehead only a few days prior. The last thoughts Sayori had before she drifted off into a dreamless slumber were of poems, cupcakes, cookies, and her friends.

 **A friend of mine and I are writing this story together. We'll be updating on Sundays. Please R &R**


	3. Chapter 2

**I own nothing, Monika does. please read the author's note at the end because I have a question for you guys.**

Sayori's eyes opened to the view of an apartment. The room's appearance was right in the middle of dingy and fancy; simply put, an incredibly plain room. Brown walls with no fixtures complimented dark brown floors. A television silently played the news a few feet away. The couch Sayori was laying on was a simple black leather. It was all rather drab. However, Sayori was thankful to find that a familiar face was not too far away from her.

It was Akechi, the young man who had saved her life just a few hours prior. "Oh, you're awake. I was starting to get worried." Akechi said with a tender smile.

Sayori rose up with a yawn, confused. "Where are we?"

"We're at my apartment. Home sweet home, in Tokyo. That's why we got on the bus, remember?" Akechi continued to smile.

"Oh." Sayori looked disappointed in herself. "I'm sorry for asking such a silly question."

"Not a problem. You've had a bad day, to say the least. I don't expect you to have yourself in order just yet. Now, let's see what we can do about that bruise." The detective offered, gesturing towards the bathroom. Sayori nodded her head in agreement.

* * *

The disinfectant stung quite a bit. Sayori was uncomfortable during the whole procedure, shaking and recoiling in pain all the while.

"Hold still, please. I can't heal the wound with this twitching!" Dr. Akechi, MD was having a tough time trying to treat Sayori's rope burn, after fashioning together a makeshift doctor's office in his cramped bathroom.

"I'm sorry. I'm not used to things stinging like this."

"Oh, it's no trouble. I wanted to help you, remember? You don't need to feel sorry." Akechi kept on smiling. Sayori couldn't look him in the eyes. Why did she deserve to be helped by such a nice guy?

A few minutes passed, and Sayori's treatment was almost complete. "Well, that's that. Time for the bandage." Akechi procured a medical wrap from his kit and began to cover the disinfected wound. "So, Sayori, where're you from?"

Sayori felt a deep pain in her head as she searched for an answer. She couldn't remember where her home was. "I… I don't know. I'm pretty sure I'm from Japan, but…"

"Not a hint, hmm? Perhaps that's just the pain from the accident talking. I'm sure something will come to mind in the coming days." Akechi began to ponder as he worked.

 _Why am I still helping this girl? She doesn't know who she is, where she came from, or why she was on that bench. I have more important things to be doing. No matter. I can't exactly drop the case now. Hmm…_

 _Well, she doesn't know where she comes from, and she's got quite the ambiguous face. Her name suggests some kind of Asian origin, but Sayori is a pretty rare name for a Japanese person. The pink hair must be dyed, no way in hell is that color natural. A shower should wash away any makeup and hair dye she has on. Maybe then I can try to pin down a race or a country of origin. It's all I have to work with, honestly…_

 _This really isn't the kind of detective work I was expecting to be doing today._

Sayori felt much better with her wound covered up. Now she wouldn't have to worry about any wandering eyes on the street. "Thank you. I really appreciate all that you've done for me." Sayori let out her first true smile all day.

"Well, the day isn't over yet. I imagine that you're feeling quite tired. It's clear that you don't have anywhere to go, and you hardly know who you even are. I suggest that you spend the night here. You can get a shower, something to eat, and a bed," the detective offered kindly, knowing it sounded like he was advertising a bed and breakfast.

Sayori looked at him for a few moments, contemplated her options, then made her decision, with a small smile firmly in place. "That sounds like a great idea. I accept."

"Splendid! I'll order us something to eat. In the meantime, I recommend taking a shower. I think it'll be quite refreshing for you." Sayori nodded in agreement once again. Akechi gave her some of his clothes to borrow, grabbed his wallet and walked toward the apartment door.

"I'll be back in about twenty minutes! The TV's yours to watch if you want!" He closed the door and headed out into the Tokyo night, confident that he was one step closer to solving the mystery.

* * *

Akechi returned to the apartment, _Big Bang Burger_ meals in hand. As he entered his home, he was shocked to find Sayori, fresh out of her shower, but still with perfectly pink hair. There wasn't a single sign of it being washed off.

"Oh, welcome back. That looks delicious," Sayori said with a clap of her hands, eagerness in her voice.

"Uh, yeah, i-it is. _Big Bang Burger_ is great." Akechi could hardly get the sentences out through his shock. _How the hell is her hair still pink!? Do they make hair dye that doesn't wash off now!?_

"Ooh, I can't wait to try it!" Sayori squealed.

"I-it's nothing special, honestly. Just your typical fast food burgers, heh," Akechi tried to appear casual, despite his obvious confusion.

"You sound nervous. What's up?"

"Nothing, nothing. I just, uh, saw something weird on the way back home."

"Like what?"

"A, uh, a talking cat…?" Akechi attempted to cover his shock and immediately felt like face palming.

"A talking cat," Sayori said with a deadpan voice.

"Yeah, a guy dressed as a cat. He was jumping around on buildings and stuff."

"Really now?" Sayori gave Akechi the most sarcastic of smiles. It was clear she didn't believe a word he said.

"Yea- ugh. Okay, I'll be honest. Your hair freaked me out. You just took a shower and it's still pink," Akechi confessed sheepishly.

"It's always been like that."

"Well, it doesn't seem natural to me. I was expecting for it to turn out to be black or something."

"I'm sorry to disappoint, then,"Sayori seemed genuinely apologetic at that point. Akechi sighed, wondering if the girls apologies would be a regular thing.

"Please stop apologizing for every little thing. Are you always like this?"

"Yes…" Sayori looked away, suddenly hit with a wave of sadness.

"Oh, no. Sayori, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I just don't think you need to be so sorry all the time. You're not hurting me and you're not hurting anybody else. Why do you have to be sorry?"

Sayori looked back at him, truly perplexed. _He's not mad at me? But I keep getting in his way!_

"Listen, we've both had a long day, together. If we're gonna be roommates for a while, we need to figure out bed plans. I'll take the couch."

"Oh, I can sleep on the couch. I don't want to mess up your routine."

"No, I insist. It's a one person bed, and I'd much rather that you took it."

"But you've been so kind to me, it's only natural that you take the bed and be happier."

"I'd actually feel much happier if you took the bed. I want you to be comfortable."

Sayori could tell that this back-and-forth was getting both of them nowhere. She opted to count her blessings and take the bed. Despite their small squabble, both of them managed to sleep soundly that night.

 **I'm really proud of how this chapter turned out. Now for the question. In a few chapters, the rest of the main cast is going to start showing up. My partner and I have run into a dilemma. What should we call the protagonist? Ren or Akira? Because of this, we decided to let you guys decide. Leave your answer in the reviews because we like the ones we've gotten so far and would appreciate more. R &R and see ya next week**


	4. Chapter 3

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

Akechi awoke the next morning to his phone ringing. _But I don't go to work today,_ he thought to himself, confused. He reached out and grabbed his phone. Unfortunately, it was not an alarm that had woken him up but a missed call from the last person he wanted to talk to, Especially at six in the morning. Groaning, he got up from the couch, knowing he had to call back.

He checked his bedroom and was glad to find Sayori sleeping peacefully. _Good, she won't interfere._ He stepped into the bathroom on the opposite side of the apartment, locking the door for good measure. Sighing, he tapped the call button.

* * *

An hour later Akechi stomped out of the room. It was sure to be a complicated day. He rubbed his forehead in exasperation. _Let's get this bullshit over with, then I can get focused on what's really important again._ He peeked into the bedroom. Sayori would probably wake up soon, but for now she was soundly asleep. Akechi was glad he had gone grocery shopping only a couple of days before. For the first time, he would have to make breakfast for someone other than himself.

He stumbled into the kitchen, pausing to grab an audio recorder from his jacket pocket. It would be best if he asked her questions as soon as possible. Hopefully her amnesia wasn't too severe and he could have her back where she needed to be before the weekend ended. He slipped on an apron over his night clothes and began his first task of the day.

* * *

Akechi looked up from his work to see Sayori making her way to the kitchen. She rubbed at her eyes. Akechi wondered if she had smelled the meal all the way from his bedroom.

"Pancakes…" she mumbled in a zombie-like state.

"Good morning, Sayori," Akechi said with a smile as he prepared the plates. Sayori managed a tired smile in return before she grabbed a plate and took a seat.

The detective sat down across from her. Akechi began contemplating how he should bring up the topic of her memories, when he noticed something. "Hey, don't scratch your bandages." The girl lowered her hand and blushed. She mumbled an apology before she began to stuff her face.

 _At least I broke the ice_ , Akechi thought. "Sayori, I was thinking after breakfast you could tell me what you remember from the last few days. Anything you think of that might help you get home."

He was beginning to wonder if it he had been too blunt with his question when Sayori finally answered. "Sure, I'll tell you all of the important things I remember from the last few days."

Akechi smiled. They would be making progress. Things were going just as planned.

* * *

"And then I asked my friend if he would start walking home with the other girls. I don't remember exactly what he said, but I know I was really sad when he answered. So anyway…"

Akechi checked his watch. Three hours had gone by and he had heard nothing sounding remotely suspicious, or important for that matter. This was getting tiresome. "OK, Sayori. This is all really interesting… But could you try to remember any of the bigger things before you came here?" The only thing he had been able to confirm was that she was depressed, but it didn't take a genius to figure that out.

He looked up and noticed Sayori looked upset. "But, I have been telling you the bigger things."

Sayori looked thoughtful for a moment. "One of the last things I remember was the day before the festival. My friend was having fun with the other club members. But even though he was doing what I wanted him to do, I still felt sad. He hugged me, but that didn't even help." She sniffled a little bit and looked away.

Akechi sighed. Sympathy and frustration were warring inside him. He turned off the voice recorder, weighing the few options he had. Considering the circumstances, it was clear that sharing his apartment was going to be a long term investment. But the glaring problem was that he wasn't prepared to have a roommate. Sayori couldn't keep wearing his clothes.

Luckily, he knew somebody with experience in this sort of thing.

* * *

"Hey, Sae." Akechi said casually into the phone. "I have something important I need to ask you." _This is going to be so awkward._

Sae sighed. "Make it quick. I'm busy right now."

 _There is no way to make this not sound creepy._ Akechi prepared himself. "So you live with Makoto, correct? What would you say children her age like to do?"

There was a long pause.

"Why do you ask?" came Sae's confused reply. Drowning in awkwardness, Akechi glanced behind him to see Sayori sulking in the main room. It would probably be best to rip it off like a bandage. His day wasn't over yet, afterall.

"I kind of… have a roommate now. And I need to make sure she doesn't accidentally die on my watch." Akechi decided not to go into too much detail. He had a feeling it would only make things worse. He checked his watch again. He only had a couple of hours left before the job.

"What have you gotten yourself into?" Sae finally replied. "And don't try to sugar coat things either. It's annoying and I don't have time for it."

 _You're telling me,_ Akechi thought. He sighed. Sae was going to find out sooner or later. She might even be able to help him solve this dilemma too. Sucking up his pride, he gave her the quickest summary he could.

* * *

"Shouldn't you turn her over to Protective Services that _specialize_ in this type of thing?"

Images flashed in his mind. Akechi grit his teeth. "Let's just say I don't trust them to do a single thing for her. Call it past experience." He tapped his foot impatiently. "Listen, I have to go. Thanks anyways." He hung up without waiting for a reply.

The detective continued to brood for a few moments. _I'll do this myself. I don't need them for this._ A tap on the shoulder broke him out of his thoughts. Akechi turned around to face Sayori, who wore a somber expression on her face.

"I want to apologize for being such a burden. This can't be easy for you and I'm only wasting your time and making things harder." Sayori blinked away tears.\, not meeting his eyes.

Any anger Goro had seemed to evaporate.

"Don't scratch the bandages," he said with a lowered voice, pretending that he hadn't been close to throwing a chair out the window earlier. Sayori lowered her hands as he continued speaking.

"It seems that this is going to be a much longer process than I thought. I propose that we take this evening to discuss what we should do now," Akechi explained. "But first, we need to go shopping," he finished with a small smile.

 **Please R &R**


	5. Chapter 4

**I own nothing, Monika does.**

Sayori and Akechi set off for the Tokyo subway, eager to get some shopping done. Sayori's mind danced with the thoughts of the various outfits she would buy and the food she would choose, while Akechi's mind grumbled at the thought of the massive dent this trip would make into his bank account.

 _But, it's worth it for her sake_ , he eventually concluded.

The subway train was incredibly crowded, as was to be expected during rush hour in Tokyo. Akechi sat still, while Sayori found herself feeling quite anxious. "Y'know, I've never been on a subway before. At least, I don't think I have." She said quietly to Akechi, who chuckled in response.

"You get used to it, I promise. I used to hate being around all of these people, too. Now it's just part of daily life." Akechi responded while looking straight ahead. Sayori nodded while looking down at her feet. She spent the rest of the ride tapping her toes while Akechi remained incredibly bored.

Finally, the ride was over. They had arrived in Shinjuku. Both Sayori and Akechi felt great relief, albeit for different reasons.

"There's a great underground mall here. We should be able to get everything we need." Akechi said while guiding Sayori towards the mall.

They were making their way through the underground walkway when Sayori found herself overwhelmed by the massive crowds. There was so much information to take in. Subway line names, directions towards locations with hard to pronounce names, loudspeaker announcements, all of it made her brain spin inside of her head.

It was at this time that she somehow lost sight of Akechi. He was right ahead of her, and now he was gone.

 _Oh no! Where is he!?_ Sayori's anxiety at this moment nearly mirrored when Akechi found her on the bench. Her panic attack was suddenly interrupted by a young man bumping into her.

This young man had scruffy black hair and reflective glasses, and he was wearing a school uniform. With a soft, kind voice, he said "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bump into you." He quickly took notice of her panicked state. "Do you need help?"

"U-uh, y-yes." Sayori was on the verge of tears. "T-there's a young man, around your age. His name is Goro. H-he's wearing a blue sweater. H-he's helping me. D-do you see him anywhere?"

The young man looked around and spotted him. He took hold of Sayori and helped her find Akechi. "Are you Goro? This young lady was looking for you."

"Oh, there you are. I was wondering where you had run off to." Goro's somewhat irritated tone quickly faded once he noticed Sayori's fragile state. He looked up towards the young man and thanked him for his help as he walked away.

"Are you feeling alright?" the detective asked, linking his arm around her own in an attempt to prevent her from getting lost again.

"Y-yes. I don't know why I freaked out like that. I just lost sight of you, and…" Sayori tried to explain, her voice cutting out when she noticed their arms now linked.

"It's alright. You're not good with crowds. Don't beat yourself up about it. C'mon, let's get going."

Sayori looked up at him with both joy and confusion. _I'm so pathetic! Why is he even bothering!?_

Thankfully, as they got closer to the mall, her tears started to disperse. Akechi would be there with her the whole way. It was good that he was, because they spent quite a while shopping.

Sayori bought plenty of new and very pink outfits, while Akechi purchased plenty of healthy (and some not so healthy) food options. They were both satisfied with their choices, however Akechi winced as he received a notification on his phone about his now lowered funds.

The two were about to leave when they passed by a bookstore, and Sayori noticed something that made her smile with glee. A leather-bound notebook was sitting front and center in the store. _Perfect for writing poems!_ Sayori thought to herself.

"Hey, Akechi. Do you think we could buy that notebook in that store over there?" Sayori asked with anticipation.

Akechi stifled a groan of frustration at having to spend more money. "Is there any reason why I should buy it? I'm nearly broke as it is."

Sayori thought back to a discussion she had with her friend back home. "I'm gonna keep writing until I die! That's what I said to him. Poems are my favorite thing in the world, Akechi. If I'm going to be with you for however long that I am, then I want you to be able to see that part of me too. It's important."

Akechi stared at her for a few long seconds, swallowed his pride and relented. "Okay, if it helps you survive while you're stuck with me, I'll buy it. But then I'm out of cash. Alright?"

"Thank you! It'll be worth it, you'll see!" Sayori's expression of joy shocked Akechi. He hadn't seen her this happy in their whole time together.

"Hey, I'll carry the bags. Alright?" Sayori offered confidently. Akechi smiled at this act of kindness, and handed her the bags. She looked as if she was about to topple over, but she persisted.

It was at that moment that Akechi decided that he would treat her like a child no longer. They were friends who must work together, equally. The two got on the subway and went home. Akechi found himself eagerly wondering what poems Sayori would write.

 **Yes, poems will be written in future chapters, though not many because I'm horrible at writing them. Also, important announcement, there will be no chapter next week. I'm going on a trip that weekend. the rest of the week will be preparing for the trip along with my other day to day tasks. But I promise that I'm going to pour as much quality into the next one as I can.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Finally a new chapter. I tried to make this one bigger. Not to mention we're diving more into the plot so I'm excited now. I own nothing, Monika does.**

The moment Akechi opened the door to his apartment, Sayori collapsed in exhaustion. Akechi casually stepped around her and put the two bags he was carrying on the kitchen table. Sayori got back on her feet and picked up the many bags she had been carrying. She was starting to question why she had decided to carry so many when Akechi had offered to help. She breathed a sigh of relief before she looked down and started to pout. The bags had torn, spilling their contents all over the floor.

"I made a mess on your floor. I'm sorry, Akechi." She mumbled, bending down to pick the mess up. She felt like cursing when she slipped on a sock and went tumbling to the floor. Instead of trying to get up, she started stuffing the different items in a bag from her spot on the floor. A sudden laugh broke her out of her concentration.

"Sayori, you…"Akechi continued to chuckle as he pointed to his head. Sayori blinked twice before moving her hand to her own head. A sock was stuck to her bow. She pulled the garment off of her head. It was frilly and pink, with orange polka dots that looked more and more ridiculous to Sayori the longer she looked at it.

Soon enough they were both laughing. Sayori had to admit, it was nice to be able to have something to laugh at. Just another mess they had to deal with together. As Akechi bent over to help, Sayori hoped that they could get through this investigation the same way they were dealing with the mess at their feet; without a rain cloud in sight.

This time Akechi insisted on carrying the bags to the table. They both knew that would probably be for the best anyway, but now they had a new problem. Where were they going to put this stuff? Before Sayori could ask about that, Akechi's phone started blaring loudly.

"It's just an alarm. I have something important I need to attend to. You should take a shower. I'll get dinner ready when I return," Akechi said. He grimaced as he put his phone back into his pocket. Time had gone too fast. He didn't want to know what would happen if he was late for the job.

Akechi could only feel relief as Sayori gave a small smile and a nod, disappearing into the bathroom. He grabbed his jacket and briefcase. It was a nice day to ride his bike, he decided. After setting out a few things out for Sayori, he finally left the apartment. Taking a few deep breaths to quell the newfound guilt settling in his mind, he took out his phone. With only a press of a button, and a few spoken words, Akechi disappeared.

* * *

Sayori stepped out of the bathroom, sporting a new pink nightgown and a bright smile. While he was gone, she would claim the couch for herself so he could sleep in his own bed. But first she figured she would need to find a place to put her stuff. As she started thinking of places to put them, her foot slammed into a large metal trunk by the couch.

"Huh? Why is this here?" Sayori pulled the heavy trunk towards herself. A note fell on her lap. She picked it up and quietly read it.

" _Sayori,_

 _you can use this trunk to put your things away. I hope it's big enough, and that it's not too much to ask that you pack while I'm gone. I forgot to mention, but we have something important to discuss when I get back._

 _Akechi"_

"He really thought this through," Sayori mumbled to herself. She wondered what they needed to talk about as she shoved her things haphazardly into the trunk and pushed it into a hall closet. She was a lot less likely to trip over it now.

That done, she decided to watch some TV to pass the time until Akechi returned home. She fiddled with the remote for a few seconds before switching on the news channel. A part of her wondered if she would one day be on the news. Not only was she probably labelled as a missing person to her friends and family at this point, but she was also living under the roof of a detective. A popular detective too, if Sayori had been correct in assuming the squealing girls from their shopping trip were directing their attention towards her roommate.

Her silent musings were immediately shattered when the subway on the screen violently crashed. Sayori leapt back and nearly fell off the couch in shock. She quickly grabbed the remote and turned the volume up. Her whole body trembled as she listened to the reporter.

" _...According to the police, the engineer's life was not in danger despite his many injuries. After questioning, even he could not explain why he-"_

"You shouldn't be watching something like this so late."

This time Sayori really did fall off the couch. When she looked up, she found Akechi staring down at her with a grim expression, mixed with something Sayori couldn't quite place. Akechi offered her a hand up. She sheepishly accepted and was pulled back into a sitting position on the couch. Akechi took a seat next to her and let out a long, tired sigh. They both sat in silence. Both of their minds were drifting to very different places.

* * *

"We were on the subway just this afternoon..." Sayori whispered, her face pallid with shock. Akechi could understand her fear. This only proved to make the queasy feeling he got after these hits even worse. He bit it down. This wasn't his fault. At least not entirely. There was one person even guiltier than he was.

He was responsible for all of the misery in Akechi's life that had made him so desperate for revenge that he would stoop to this low. There was no turning back either. The path to his vengeance was already paved in blood. Akechi would see this plan through to the end, even if it killed him. A temporary friendship with a girl who would have to leave his life anyway would never change that.

Akechi reached for his suitcase as he consolingly patted the frightened girl on the shoulder. He felt too awkward and guilty to do much else. He sorted through the case until he found what he was looking for. He set a brown paper bag and a black bundle of cloth in front of Sayori.

"There's sushi in the bag. You can eat while I discuss our living plans," he said as he pushed the bag towards Sayori. She nodded numbly, sorting through the bag until she had a good pile of sushi infront of her. She looked at Akechi expectantly. He cleared his throat and grabbed the bundle.

"I think it's time for you to start going to school," Akechi explained as calmly as possible. While he would have liked to give her more time to recuperate, he had work and school himself. He couldn't trust Sayori to stay in the house by herself and not find something incriminating that would put her life at risk.

He unrolled the bundle Sae had given him less than fifteen minutes ago. He could only hope that Makoto's hand-me-downs would fit. While Sayori studied her new school uniform, Akechi explained the rest of his plan. The change of subject was welcomed by both of them. They spent an hour discussing and compromising the strictures Sayori now had. Akechi would never admit how relieved he felt to have his bed back when Sayori demanded to take the couch.

* * *

The uniform was a bit too tight around the chest.

These were most of the thoughts Sayori had as she walked the streets towards her new school. Not that she would be voicing them anytime soon. Akechi had done too much for her already for her to complain right now. Not to mention, the thought of voicing these concerns to Akechi, someone who was in fact a few months younger than her, made her turn red with embarrassment.

And as obscure as it was, Sayori couldn't help but think of Natsuki and Yuri whenever the thought came up. She giggled at the memory of breaking their fight up only about a week before. The giggle morphed into a sad sigh. A part of her wondered if any of them were worried about her. It pained her to think that she could be causing panic with her friends as she leisurely strolled towards school. Sayori decided to quicken her pace.

* * *

Shujin Academy gave Sayori a troubling feeling. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she couldn't really remember what her old school looked like. Swallowing the sadness that came with this revelation, Sayori walked up the stairs just as the school bell rang.

 **Please R &R. We will be back to our normal schedule from now on**


	7. Chapter 6

**OK, disclaimer for real this time. Skip this chapter if you don't like things that are a bit inappropriate. To give you an idea of why, Kamoshida is in this chapter. We tried to make it short, and as clean as possible while still conveying how much of a creep this jerk is. Last disclaimer, I don't own anything, Monika does.**

Shujin Academy was simultaneously familiar and incredibly alien to Sayori. Parts of it reminded her of her school back home, while others were brand new. Akechi had gotten her pre-registered, but she had never actually visited the facility before today. She felt nervous. As if the incident at the subway station wasn't bad enough, now she had to stay away from Akechi for hours at a time in an unfamiliar place. Sayori had eventually worked up the courage to head out, but the feelings of unease started to creep back in as she walked through Shujin's halls.

"Sayori... Matsu?" Ms. Kawakami was calling role with an exceptionally bored tone.

"Here!" replied Sayori. She couldn't remember her last name, so Akechi made up one on the spot. Apparently, he had recently heard it in an anime.

Sayori was assigned to Class 2-D, seated at the back left corner of the classroom. As she listened to roll call, she started to learn some of her classmates' names. Ann Takamaki, Yuuki Mishima, Akira Kurusu…

As Sayori plodded through homeroom class, her mind began to wander. As her eyes skimmed over the classroom, she could almost picture her old school. Natsuki and Yuri would be arguing in the corner, Monika would be waiting to announce poem sharing time, and… No.

She couldn't bear to think about it right now. It would be mortifying to start crying in front of everyone simply because she missed her childhood friend. But… This place reminded her so much of home, and she couldn't figure out why.

Sayori eventually started to realize that she should probably make a few friends. It would distract her from the rain-clouds gathering in her head. _There have to be a few nice people here, right?_ She wondered optimistically. Her eyes floated across the room before deciding on a target. The boy with blue hair and bruises across his face, Yuuki Mishima, was Sayori's first choice. However, his demeanor deterred her away. Sayori hated to discriminate against people for such questionable reasons, but something about Mishima told her that she should stay away for now.

Sayori, disappointed, decided to look for someone else. Her attention came to a young lady sitting directly across from her, Ann Takamaki. She had long, blonde hair in pigtails, and blue eyes.

 _Blonde hair and blue eyes in Tokyo? What's her story?_ Sayori decided that she would try and talk to her after class. New resolve in place, she got out her textbook, excited for lunchtime.

* * *

Sayori finished her lunch, ready to talk to Ann. She was eagerly anticipating the opportunity to make friends. Ann was sitting with a black-haired young lady. She too had bruises across her face.

 _Just like Mishima! What is going on at this school?_ Sayori decided to leave that question for later. It was probably sensitive, after all. Taking a deep breath to settle any doubts she may have had, Sayori approached the table.

"Hello, my name is Sayori Matsu! We're both in Class 2-D!" Sayori exclaimed with her brightest smile.

Takamaki turned towards her, a slight grimace in her expression. "Oh, hello. I'm Ann Takamaki. This is my friend, Shiho Suzui." Shiho looked toward Sayori for a second before opting to stare at her table instead.

"It's nice to meet you, Suzui-san! I was wondering, could I get to know you two? I'm new to this school and I'd love to be friends." Sayori's chipper tone contrasted the sadness emanating from the table.

"Um, maybe another time. We're in the middle of something right now—" Ann looked away, much to Sayori's confusion. Perhaps she should've approached these two more carefully. A part of her almost wanted to face palm at her insensitivity. She was about to walk away and try a different table when Shiho spoke up.

"No. I want to talk to her." Shiho stood up and stared directly at Sayori.

"Shiho...?" Ann was in shock.

Shiho was on the verge of tears, but she managed to utter one simple, angry message. "Stay away from Kamoshida." She couldn't bear to look at Sayori after that.

Sayori decided that this wasn't the right time to be making friends.

* * *

Sayori felt a growing dread in her chest after Shiho's message. Who was Kamoshida? What did he do to inspire Shiho to tell her that message? Was he the reason for her bruises? One of her questions, to her horror, was answered as soon as she looked back down at her school schedule.

Suguru Kamoshida was her P.E. teacher. Sayori didn't know what to do at that point. A man who could cause a young lady to strike dread into her heart like that must be incredibly bad news. She decided to brace herself for whatever would come next.

.

P.E. class finally arrived, and with it came Sayori's first look at Kamoshida. Very tall, black hair, muscular, he looked like a typical gym coach. Sayori studied him, a sinking feeling settling in her stomach. She was beginning to wonder if it would be possible to fake a cold and have Akechi come get her when the bell rang. Class had started, leaving her no time to put such a plan into action.

"Nice toss! You've still got it, Coach!"

"You know I do!" Kamoshida boasted. While he was supposed to be playing volleyball, Sayori became well aware of his subtle glances over at the girls in the gym, his eyes pointed directly where they didn't need to be. She was especially aware of the times he looked at her in particular.

 _He really is a creep_ , Sayori thought. _I'll have to be careful_.

As the game of volleyball continued, Sayori became increasingly bored. She wasn't much of a sports fan in the first place, and the majority of the room was far more into it than she was. She opted to sit on the sidelines and watch.

There she found the boy from earlier, Yuuki Mishima. He had injuries just like Shiho's. He must know something. After her experiences earlier, Sayori decided that she should get to the bottom of the Kamoshida situation. She decided to ask Mishima what was up.

"Hello, I'm Sayori Matsu."

"Um, hi. I'm Yuuki Mishima."

"Yeah, we're both in Class 2-D. Anyway, I'll get straight to the point. Do you know anything about our gym teacher? I've seen multiple people with bruises. He's been staring at me the entire class period, and earlier a girl named Shiho warned me to stay away from him. What is his deal?"

"Uh… nothing. N-nothing at all. These are just sports injuries. Normal stuff. Suzui-san just doesn't like him 'cause he's a bit chauvinistic, that's all." Mishima said nervously.

Sayori decided she would focus on the conversation now, and ask Akechi what "chauvinistic" meant later. "Really? I don't think a girl with sports injuries and a bad impression of a man would say something as foreboding as she did. You're not lying to me, are you?" Sayori pouted.

Hopefully, Mishima would be more willing to answer her questions if she made herself seem less intimidating.

"Look, just stay away from me, alright? Just don't get involved. It's for your own good." Mishima cautiously walked away. Her plan didn't go as well as Sayori had hoped.

Sayori was left with a feeling of disappointment and anger. Obviously Kamoshida had a degree of control over the students that nobody deserves. But what did he do to scare them into submission? Why would Mishima not tell her the truth? There was a sizable pit growing in Sayori's stomach.

She might actually have to go to the nurse's afterall.

* * *

The end of class bell rang, and as the class started to leave, Sayori found herself in a situation beyond anything she could have expected.

"Hey there. You're new, right?" It was Kamoshida. What did he want?

"Uh, yeah. I'm Sayori Matsu."

He started to drift towards her. "Well, Matsu-chan, I have a proposition for you." He got close to her head and smiled. "See me after school, and I'll help you get ahead of the other students."

She could feel his breath on her shoulders as he stroked her red bow. Sayori's fear jumped into overdrive. _Is this what he tried against Shiho?_

"N–No way! Get away from me!" Sayori pushed him away and started to run.

Kamoshida's expression grew darker as he began to shout. "Alright! But you're passing up a great opportunity here, Matsu! I'll see you in class tomorrow!" He turned around and laughed.

Sayori didn't stop running. Her fear wouldn't let her.

* * *

Sayori stayed cautious throughout the rest of the day, waiting for the moment when she could leave. Something was horribly wrong at this school, and nobody was willing to open up. She would have to talk to Akechi about this after school. She didn't feel safe when a man like Kamoshida was around.

As she walked through the halls of Shujin Academy, she suddenly came across a familiar face. It was the boy from the subway! Her fear dispelled for just a moment, she began to rush towards him.

 **I wonder who he could be? Also, who knows what the reference in Sayori's new last name is? See you next week. Please R &R!**


	8. Chapter 7

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

Putting her hands up in a familiar waving motion, Sayori rushed forward. The black haired boy was quick to notice her, and put his hand up to silently greet her. However, her balance had other plans and Sayori tripped. As she lay sprawled on the ground, seeing nothing but stars, the girl heard two sets of footsteps coming towards her.

Two people grabbed a hold of her arms and hoisted her to her feet. When Sayori looked up, she found the boy from the subway was helping her once again. Alongside him was another boy with blond hair and brown eyes. Sayori internally chastised herself as she gathered her bearings.

"Are you alright?" The boy from the subway asked.

"Yeah, I'm just a klutz. I recognized you from yesterday, at the subway. I never got a chance to properly thank you," Sayori replied sheepishly. "I'm Sayori Matsu, by the way. I just started at Shujin today." Sayori reached out for a handshake, only for the blond boy to interrupt.

"For real…!? Akira's starting today too!" he exclaimed.

"Akira… You're the boy who was late today. That means we're in the same class!" Sayori said happily.

After the blond introduced himself as Ryuji Sakamoto, the two boys began walking down the hall. Realizing her next class was in that direction, Sayori followed them. At this point, they were the closest she had to friends in this school. They didn't seem to mind, but kept their conversation quiet. Still, Sayori was able to pick out a few words.

"Castle… Cat… Asshole… Kamoshida."

"Wait a minute... Kamoshida!?" Sayori's heart leapt a bit. Maybe these two could fill her in on what she was missing!

The two boys looked over at her and seemed to tense up a bit. They were probably worried about how much she had overheard. But Sayori was much too eager to care about that. She walked the small distance between them and took a calming breath.

"Kamoshida… scares me," she said quietly. Akira and Ryuji perked up and leaned in to listen. "I have a class with him. He offered to see me after school and help me 'get ahead' of the rest of the class. But he…" Sayori hiccuped, putting a hand to her bow and shakily putting in into her pocket. It felt wrong to wear it now.

"That asshole!" Ryuji suddenly exploded. Sayori jumped a bit. The blond started a rant mostly consisting of curse words, and at least one "this is bullshit!" Sayori and Akira could only watch.

"Would you like us to walk you to your next class?" Akira suddenly asked her.

Sayori nodded gratefully. Ryuji was still muttering to himself as they made their way down the hall. Thankfully, the day ended without further incident for Sayori.

* * *

Sayori was the first to arrive at the apartment that afternoon. She tucked the spare key back into its hiding place and stepped inside. Akechi wouldn't be back for another fifteen minutes. Sayori spent this time pacing around the living room, getting her thoughts in order. But the more she thought, the more she wanted to scream and cry. Composing herself obviously took a bit more effort.

Eventually, Akechi arrived home, finding the girl glaring at her bow, which was now set on the coffee table.

"Is everything alright?" Akechi asked, concerned.

"No… I don't feel like anything is alright," Sayori said quietly. She hugged her knees to her chest. The space beside her shifted and Akechi's face filled her vision

.

"What's wrong?"

Sayori swallowed the lump in her throat. "The school… I don't feel safe there." Any composure she had gained was quickly crumbling. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Akechi straighten out. Knowing her slumped posture was one of the reasons it was so hard to breathe, Sayori followed his example.

He put a hand on her shoulder and looked her straight in the eye. "Did something happen?"

Sayori nodded, knowing if she did anything else she was going to cry. She could feel Akechi's grip on her shoulder tighten a bit.

"Then tell me what. Don't leave out a single detail. I'll do everything I can to ensure it doesn't happen again."

Sayori nodded and opened her mouth to speak. But the second she did a sob ripped its way through her throat and she started to cry. Knowing she wouldn't be able to speak if she didn't calm down, Sayori latched herself onto Akechi. He sat in shock for a few moments before hugging her back. After a few long minutes of this, Sayori was able to calm down enough to form coherent sentences.

"Goro, it was so horrible!" Sayori began telling him a detailed description of her day. She made it from Shiho's admission, to her observations of Kamoshida during gym class, Mishima's injuries, as well as Shiho's, and finally to Kamoshida's "offer." She started sobbing again, and focused her attention back on the hug, trying to calm down. Akechi's grip tightened, making her lean into his chest.

A million possible solutions for this problem were running through Akechi's head. The most effective involved a lot of murder. The only reason he didn't entertain those thoughts was because they would jeopardize his own plans.

He finally came to a rational conclusion as Sayori's crying turned into a small fit of hiccups. She reluctantly let go as Akechi stretched his arms.

"I'm having you pulled out of his class," he began. "And you'll get a phone as soon as possible. You are to tell me immediately if anything else happens." He watched Sayori nod in understanding before picking up her bow. He clipped it back into her hair.

"Keep wearing this. You'll only give him what he wants if you show people he got to you," Akechi explained. Sayori was a bit hesitant to agree, but readjusted her bow nevertheless.

"Thank you, Goro," Sayori replied. Her face was beet red as she finally got her bow the way she liked it. She hoped Akechi didn't notice.

* * *

A couple days passed with no further incidents. Sayori was in the library, writing in her notebook. She was in the midst of writing haikus about her clubmates when she noticed something in the hallway.

Shiho and Ann had just passed by wearing the red sweats everyone was wearing today. Sayori knew this was the perfect time to apologize.

Getting up from her small hiding place, Sayori exited the library and tentatively approached the two. She wasn't going anywhere near the gym. So she was glad she gained their attention quickly. Sayori waved at the two girls shyly and walked up.

"I never got the chance to apologize for Monday. I'm sorry if I bothered you two," Sayori said. She smiled a bit before turning her attention to Shiho specifically. "You were right. Thank you for warning me about Kamoshida," she whispered.

Shiho, who had been hanging her head, looked up in alarm. Sayori got out her coin purse and pointed to a certain spot down the hall.

"A friend gave this to me. Would you guys like to get some snacks from that vending machine?" Sayori didn't know if mending a bad first impression counted as what Akechi described as an emergency when he handed her the purse. But it was worth a shot, wasn't it? Ann seemed eager to accept the offer, anyway.

Ann looked at Shiho and smiled. "That sounds great." Shiho smiled back a bit and nodded. The three girls began their snack quest. Sayori pretended not to notice Shiho inspecting her from head to toe, presumably for injuries like her own.

Regardless, she appreciated the sentiment.

They got their snacks and went their separate ways. Sayori agreed to meeting them for a few minutes after the rally ended. Clutching her now half empty coin purse, she wondered if Akechi would notice the change in weight of the bag. She didn't like giving him reason to worry. Sayori hoped the small cost might blossom into two new friends.

* * *

Two days later, Sayori could happily say she had a grand total of four new friends, five if one thought of Akechi as new. And hopefully six if she could talk to Mishima again, and probably also apologize to him as well. Sayori hoped things would continue to move in this direction.

So why was it that she woke up on Friday with such a horrible feeling? She put a hesitant hand to the bruises around her neck. They were hidden by the collar of her uniform and hadn't been bothering her since Akechi had taken off the bandages. However, they throbbed painfully today.

Sayori grabbed an ice pack on her way out. She fixed it to her wound so it wouldn't be noticed by her classmates, not that it helped much anyway. It was impossible to focus on much else beside her own injury. Sayori spent most of her morning in pain, unable to focus on her classes.

She was just starting to drift off when an alarm went off inside her head. Sayori jolted awake just as someone jumped out of his seat.

"Hey… What's that…!?" he exclaimed.

The teacher tried to direct attention back to class, but it was futile. Sayori hated to see why.

Storm clouds formed in her head as she, along with Akira and Ann, ran out of the room. Thunder blared in her head as Sayori anxiously looked out the window at Shiho. Was this really happening?! Everything about this moment gave Sayori a familiar sense of dread.

She could only stare in horrified silence as Shiho jumped off the school building into the courtyard. Even in the midst of her panicking thoughts, Sayori couldn't help but compare Shiho to a glass doll.

 _So fragile,_ Sayori thought as the rain clouds inside her drowned out all other sounds. The pain from her neck, combined with the horrible noise in her head, became an experience of complete agony.

She didn't notice the dark spots at the edge of her vision at first. Lightheaded, her eyes rolled back and Sayori tilted. Thankfully, Akira managed to catch her and set her against the wall as she fainted. Sayori was in a cold, dreamless state as everyone rushed past her. All she could think of as she drifted into unconsciousness was a percentage sign.

 **Please R &R**


	9. Chapter 8

**I own nothing. Monika does**

Sayori awoke to the sight of Shujin's nurse office. She felt incredibly groggy, which was to be expected as she had fainted hours before. As she gathered her thoughts, she was pleased to find Goro sitting next to her. He was reading a book, looking somewhat distraught.

"What… what happened?" Sayori inquired.

"You passed out when that girl tried to kill herself. They called me to come get you." Goro said with a detached tone. He didn't look up from his book.

"Oh, now I remember… Shiho…" Sayori was on the verge of tears. "What happened to her, do you know?"

"They took her to the hospital. I don't know what's going to happen to her. I know she's in critical condition." Goro looked towards Sayori with sadness in his eyes.

"What about Takamaki-san? She's her best friend. She should know something."

"I don't know anything about anyone named Takamaki." Goro growled.

Sayori took note of this sudden tonal shift. "How are you feeling, Goro? You seem different."

Goro snapped his book shut and stood up. "I am feeling… very, very poor." He seemed ready to break down at any moment.

Sayori wondered if this had anything to do with her. "Oh, I'm… I'm sorry. What happened?"

Goro snapped. "You happened! I'm supposed to be a detective, not a babysitter! I should be out there solving crimes, punishing scum, not wasting money and time on a little girl!"

Sayori's heart fell into despair. She knew it. This was all her fault.

"Even at that, I'm a complete failure! I'm supposed to be keeping you safe, finding out where your parents are, getting you home, but all I've done so far is take you on a playdate to the mall and sent you to a garbage, child molester-filled school for poor people! I'm a piece of shit!" Goro's face was filled with rage. Right now, he was a completely different person.

Sayori couldn't recognize him anymore. This wasn't the Goro she knew. Gone was the cool visage, the nice outfits, the intelligence. This was someone far more broken. She began to cry.

Goro's rage continued for a moment until he noticed Sayori's tears. They stabbed his heart like a rain of daggers. This isn't right! She shouldn't see me like this! What am I doing?! He released the anger from his system as if he were an overheating machine releasing exhaust. He looked towards Sayori, whose face was drenched with tears.

"Oh, god… Sayori, I'm… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to burst like that."

Sayori continued to cry. She couldn't hear him through her sadness. Goro grabbed her by the hands and pulled himself close.

"Sayori, listen to me! I'm sorry! It… it isn't your fault. None of this is. Please, Sayori."

Sayori stopped crying, but she still couldn't look Goro in the eyes. She remembered her friends back home. How she trusted them when they said everything would be alright. She wiped the leftover tears from her face as she made a shocking realization. She felt the exact same way about the detective that stood in front of her.

"Why do I feel like I should trust you? We barely met only a few days ago, and now you're yelling at me. I try my hardest to not get in your way, to not make anything harder for you, and you still yell at me! So why do I believe you when you say that?"

Goro gripped her hands harder. Sayori felt a shudder through her body. Goro struggled to reply to her question. "...I don't know. I don't. All I know is that I'm sorry, and that you don't deserve for me to yell at you like that. Do you forgive me?"

Sayori knew the answer in her heart, but she still had troubling saying it out loud. "...Yes. I forgive you."

"Then it's settled. I'll try to control my temper from now on. Now come on, let's go ho-" Sayori embraced him in a surprise hug mid-sentence. Goro was startled at her strong embrace, but found himself with closed eyes and a smile on his face.

Goro kept his hands closely locked on Sayori's as they left Shujin Academy. He was sure of his purpose now.

* * *

Goro found himself lost in thought during the subway ride home. Something was dreadfully wrong.

There's no way all of these events are a mere coincidence. Could it be the- No! There's no way! I would have seen the signs by now!

Sayori sensed Goro's unease. "What's up?"

"N-nothing, I'm just… thinking. Thinking about what I need to do for the future. It's plain to see that something isn't working out here. Your first days at this school have been nothing but terrible. I sent you here so you would have something to do during the investigation, but I don't know if it'll be worth the effort. I've made no progress. No leads, no new evidence, nothing. At this rate, I'm never gonna get you back home." Goro felt his anger start to boil again.

Sayori stared at her feet for a moment. She felt disappointed. _What am I going to do? Natsuki, Yuri, Monika… they must be so worried about me._ However, she decided to remain confident. She looked up at him and smiled. "That's alright. I'll wait as long as it takes. Something will come up eventually." She put her hand on top of his, which caused Goro to blush ever so slightly. His anger dispersed as he displayed a rare, genuine smile.

"You're quite optimistic, aren't you? I wish I had that kind of attitude. It'd probably be helpful in my line of work."

"I dunno where it comes from, but I'm grateful for it. Sometimes you need some happiness to get through life."

"...Yeah, I suppose you do." Goro chuckled in response. The train home rattled on down the line, carrying two firm friends onboard.

* * *

The next week went by without much excitement. No new info in the investigation, no new happenings at school. Sayori was both thankful and resentful of this. She was glad that nothing terrible happened to any more students, but she was also finding herself falling into a malaise due to boredom.

However, this all changed when the calling cards arrived.

 _"'Sir Suguru Kamoshida, the utter bastard of lust. We know how shitty you are, and that you put your twisted desires on students that can't fight back. That's why we have decided to steal away those desires and make you confess your sins. This will be done tomorrow, so we hope you will be ready. From, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts."_

Sayori was shocked at what she was reading. Just a week after her encounter with Kamoshida, and now these cards show up in the hallway? The Phantom Thieves of Hearts… who could they be?

 **Sorry if this seemed shorter than normal. Please R &R!**


	10. Ch 9

**I own nothing, Monika does.**

Sayori hummed to herself as she walked to the school. It had been days since Kamoshida was last at Shujin. This made it easier for her and Goro to breathe, at least in the afternoons. The mornings, however, were always full of tension, the constant question being: would Kamoshida return to Shujin?

The mere thought made Sayori want to puke. Still, she needed to talk to Ann. There was something important Sayori felt she had to do. Her goals firm, Sayori quickened her pace up the school steps. As she made sure she hadn't dropped her bag, Sayori pushed through the school doors.

As she took her seat in homeroom, Sayori began rustling through her notebook. Flipping through rejected poems, important notes, and a torn copy of the strange red cards, the girl finally stopped on a single piece of loose paper.

As the bell rang, Sayori carefully folded the page. Satisfied with her work, she shifted in her seat. Before she could successfully pass the important note to Ann's desk, the loudspeaker blared. Sayori grumbled before stashing the note in her shirt pocket. She wasn't too frustrated, it would be easier to pass the note during such a sudden assembly anyway.

* * *

Sayori was struggling through the crowd when the principal started speaking. She paused when she saw the man. _He's that rude man in the suit from when I first showed up in Tokyo!_ Shaking off the negative thought, Sayori continued her struggle. She just needed to reach Ann and give her the note.

"Let's begin this school-wide morning assembly," the principal finally began.

Sayori stopped to listen. She was just a few feet away from Ann. As predicted, the assembly was about Shiho. Sayori was glad to hear Shiho was getting better, but that was all the more reason to get the note to Ann. A slam interrupted her train of thought. Everyone looked in surprise at the other end of the gym. Sayori shuddered, closing the remaining distance between Ann and herself. Kamoshida was back.

"I... have been reborn," Kamoshida said, looking downcast. Sayori hesitated in grabbing her phone. What was going on?

"That is why I will confess everything to you all," Kamoshida continued, walking up to the stage. Everyone in the room was stunned. This was really happening. Sayori leaned in closer, not wanting to miss a word.

"I have repeatedly done things that were… unbecoming of a teacher. Verbally abusing students… physically abusing my team, and… sexually harassing female students. I am the reason Shiho Suzui tried to kill herself!" Kamoshida collapsed on his knees.

Sayori stared in shock, not quite believing what she had just heard. She had never expected whatever confession Kamoshida might make to be this truthful. She composed herself and continued to listen.

"I thought of this school as my own castle. There were even students that I sentenced to expulsion, simply because I didn't like them. I will, of course, rescind those." Kamoshida was weeping now. "I am truly sorry for putting innocent youths through such horrible acts… I am an arrogant, shallow… and shameful person. No, I'm worse than that…" Kamoshida seemed to be getting closer to the floor with every word he spoke. Sayori wondered what else he could possibly have left to say. Would he name other victims? Tell them his mental process?

"I will take responsibility and kill myself for it!"

Sayori was trembling. No, this was the worst thing he could have said! Sayori clenched her fists, looking for an exit. The teachers wanted them to return to class anyway. She would give Ann her note and leave, she decided.

"Don't run, you bastard!"

Sayori was startled when Ann yelled at Kamoshida. She didn't think it was possible for someone to look so angry. Sayori backed away, not about to get in the way. She wanted to hear what Ann had to say, much more than what Kamoshida had to say, anyway.

"Shiho's still alive even after all the things that made her want to die! You have no right to run from this!" Ann raged. Sayori nodded furiously in agreement. Kamoshida seemed to agree too, not that Sayori wanted to give him the privilege of having any more of her attention.

Sayori patted Ann on the shoulder as Kamoshida confessed the multiple crimes he had committed. Sayori didn't expect for him to admit what he had done to herself as well. Confessing he had harassed female students would be enough. Ann had it much worse than she did, anyway. And at the end of the day, he would go to jail no matter what.

Sayori was glad when the assembly finally ended. When Ann left, Sayori jogged up beside her and handed her the note. Ann gave her a questioning look.

"Give this to Shiho for me, please. I worked really hard on it," Sayori answered. The girl turned and walked away. She knew that Ann would want to know what it was first, but she didn't mind. It was only a short poem. Hopefully, Shiho would appreciate it anyway.

 _I hope the pain eases soon._

 _That the sun shines_

 _through the clouds,_

 _that the stars fill your eyes._

 _I hope the pain eases soon._

 _That the light of hope_

 _shines through the sadness,_

 _and banishes the darkened skies._

* * *

"You seem to be in a good mood. Did you give your friend the poem?" Goro inquired as he stepped through the apartment door.

"It was just a note," Sayori replied modestly. "Not only that, but I have wonderful news! Kamoshida confessed everything he did!"

"Oh, really?" Goro asked, as if he hadn't already heard all of this from Nijima. He took his place on the couch and watched Sayori fondly. Sayori could give him a much more detailed report of what happened, especially if she knew she had his full attention. He much preferred theo listen to her explain events, anyway.

"It was really strange how he confessed. I wonder what happened while he was gone from school to change him so suddenly," Sayori mused. "Did he just hit his head on a rock or something?"

"I think that only works on TV, Sayori." Goro replied as he retrieved his case notes from his briefcase. "By the way, have you remembered anything else that might help the investigation?"

Sayori shook her head. "No, but now that Kamoshida is gone I feel a lot better." She smiled wide to prove her point, and continued to fidget.

"I'm very happy for you..." Goro trailed off. He had had a theory in mind ever since he had heard the story from Nijima. But he wasn't going to get Sayori involved. She would probably think he was crazy.

"Hey, Goro?" Sayori asked, smiling shyly.

"Yeah?"

"I think it would be a good idea to get some fast food tonight. Cooking is no way to celebrate!" Sayori exclaimed.

Goro sighed. "I'm tempted to call you out on your trickery, Sayori. I don't really feel like cooking anyway... But I get to decide where to go."

"Boo! You'll just take me to the pancake place again. I'm tired of pancakes!"

"I firmly believe there is no such thing as being tired of pancakes." Akechi shot a cocky smile as Sayori crossed her arms and grumbled.

* * *

 _Somewhere, in the depths of Tokyo's glitz and glamor, a new evil arises. This evil will inspire the next development in our story. The questions are still out there. Who are the Phantom Thieves? What is their agenda? Why did Kamoshida repent for his crimes? Who is Sayori? Where did she come from? How will she get home?_

 _The story of our two heroes has just begun._

 **I know the poem isn't the best but I warned you all. Anyway, Yusuke is coming soon and I'm excited. Please R &R and we'll see you next time!**


	11. Ch 10

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

It had been a few weeks since Kamoshida confessed. Sayori was riding high with the knowledge that she would no longer have to be afraid of him. She had gotten past her malaise as the boredom of school life evaporated once Kamoshida left. It was as if the school had gained new life. Students came out of the woodwork and started talking to each other, telling tales of their encounters with Kamoshida, and their distrust of the faculty. Sayori was happy to see everyone change for the better.

On the other side of Tokyo, Goro was finding himself frustrated. Work had become quite difficult since Sayori's arrival. Even after a month, there was still nothing. No one had come forth looking for their daughter, no one said a word about a missing pink-haired girl from some town in the country. To him, his reputation as Ace Detective was failing. Furthermore, his other job wasn't working out either. Complications had arisen that made his whole life even more difficult. He decided that he needed a break.

While Goro waited for the morning's breakfast to cook, he started to peruse the morning newspaper.

"Ichiryusai Madarame is holding an exhibit, huh… Hey, Sayori!" Goro called into the other room of his apartment. Sayori was still getting dressed.

"What is it, Goro?" Sayori adjusted her bow as she spoke.

"Would you like to go to this art exhibit after school? It seems pretty interesting. A famous artist is going to be there too!"

Sayori smiled at the suggestion. "Sure! Sounds like a lot of fun!"

Sayori finished getting dressed and walked out to the kitchen.

"You ready for breakfast?" Akechi was wearing a chef's apron as he cooked.

"Always."

She breathed in the smell of the kitchen. "Hmm… eggs and bacon today?"

"Yep. I can cook things other than pancakes, y'know."

"Yeah, I remember. Like the time you burned our sausages."

"Hey now, that's a real low blow!" Akechi chuckled.

Sayori grabbed a plate and eagerly awaited her food. She came close to salivating as she heard the eggs sizzling on the pan.

"And… done!" Akechi picked up a spatula as he brought the pan towards the table. "Watch your hands!" He dropped a few slices on bacon on her plate alongside some scrambled eggs. "Alright, chow down. Then we'll get you to school."

After a few minutes of eating, Sayori spoke up. "Think we'll get to meet this famous artist at the show?"

"Now, who in their right mind would pass up the opportunity to meet the famous Ace Detective? Of course we'll get to meet him." Goro beamed with pride.

Sayori tousled his hair in response to the comment. Goro's occasional pride always made her smile.

Goro chuckled as he waved her arm away. "Hey, I spent hours on that hair!"

* * *

The exhibit was filled to the brim with art fans. Whether they were taking photos with their phones or crowding around a popular piece, Sayori had trouble navigating around them. Goro was off somewhere else in the room, probably with a few fangirls following behind. Sayori wished he stayed a bit closer, but she also appreciated the opportunity to be independent.

As she wandered the exhibition, one painting in particular caught her eye. It depicted a red-clothed woman, staring down at a foggy expanse with the moon behind her. She was entranced by the painting. Sayori wasn't alone in her fascination. This particular painting had attracted a massive congregation of fans. Sayori wanted to get closer to the painting so she could examine the details, but the crowd wouldn't budge.

"What do you think of the painting?"

Sayori was broken out of her trance by the voice of a young man. He had dark blue hair and was wearing a white shirt.

"Um, y-yes. I think it's really pretty. I don't know what it's about though."

The man smiled. "It is indeed beautiful. However, I cannot say I understand it either. Sensei painted the _Sayuri_ many years ago, and in all of that time I have never been able to understand it."

"This painting is called _Sayuri_? My name is Sayori!" Sayori started to giggle.

The man looked confused. "I don't understand. What are you laughing at?"

Sayori's laughter faltered a bit. "Well, y'know, Sayuri sounds like Sayori. What a coincidence, right?"

The man looked as if a hamster was running on a wheel in his brain. "Oh, I understand. It rhymes." He finally started to chuckle. "That is quite humorous, Sayori!"

The two caught the attention of some visitors in the exhibit with their strange laughter. One of those people was Goro, who decided to investigate the situation.

"What are you two up to? Sayori, who is this?"

"This is, um… Who are you, exactly?"

"Oh, excuse me. My name is Yusuke Kitagawa. I am a student of Madarame. Are you Sayori's boyfriend?"

Sayori choked on her own breath at the comment. Goro was confused. "Um, no, I am not. I am merely her guardian at the moment. My name is Goro Akechi. You might have seen me on TV."

"No, I regret to say that I do not own a television."

Goro was disappointed. "Oh. Regardless, would you happen to know where Madarame-san may be? I wish to speak to him, if possible."

"I'm sorry. Madarame-sensei is not seeing visitors right now. He is having a business meeting currently."

Goro grew even more disappointed. "Oh well. Sorry, Sayori. I know you wanted to meet him."

Sayori looked confused at Goro's apology. "It's okay, Goro. It really wasn't that big of a deal. Besides, we got to see some nice paintings, right?"

Goro smiled at her optimism. As they were preparing to go home, Sayori heard yet another voice.

"Yo, Matsu-chan!"

It was Ryuji Sakamoto, who had come with Akira Kurusu and Ann Takamaki in tow.

"Hey, Sakamoto-chan! I didn't expect to see you here!"

Yusuke grumbled at the sight of Sakamoto barging in. "You really came."

"What'd you expect when you left us those tickets!?"

Sayori was overjoyed at this revelation. "Kitagawa-kun, you know Sakamoto-chan too!? That's awesome!"

"Yes, I certainly know him." Yusuke coldly looked over at Ryuji. "Make sure you don't get in the way of the other visitors." He looked toward Ann and smiled once more. "Come now. I'll show you around. I'd like to speak more about the picture I'd like to draw too." Finally, he looked towards Sayori. "It was nice meeting you. I must be off."

"Bye, Kitagawa-kun!"

"Those are your friends from school, right?" Goro asked.

"Yup. Two of them are even in my same class!"

Goro had a contemplative expression on his face. "I'm glad. I'm glad you've met so many new people. I wish I got to speak with them."

"If we see them again, I'll make sure you get a word in."

"Good."

"Ooh, look over there! It's a souvenir stand! Let's go check it out!"

Goro groaned. Visions of his empty wallet entered his brain yet again. Sayori was always a handful. However, he could never a deny a request from her.

 **Well that was fun. Also, did anybody get the reference to Sayori's last name? I wasn't sure if it was obvious or not. Please read and review and see you next week!**


	12. Ch 11

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

Sayori walked to school, quietly humming to herself. The new pen Akechi had bought her was safely stashed in her pocket. It was a small gift, but it had reminded Sayori of something she had been meaning to do for awhile now. After all, this might be a chance to make her roommate's life a bit easier.

Making her way through the school's main hallway, Sayori had only one goal in mind, the bulletin board. Looking through the posters and sign-up sheets, her brows furrowed in slight frustration. So many clubs to join, but would any of them be any help?

Sayori missed the Literature Club at her old school, and she wanted to recreate that experience. Sadly, none of the related clubs at Shujin seemed right. The Book Club was more about reading books in a certain amount of time, as opposed to writing creatively. The Poetry Club didn't seem to focus on anything but that one aspect of literature, one aspect of literature that Sayori didn't think herself any good at yet. All other related clubs had similar or identical problems, and she quickly found herself disheartened.

Sighing sadly, Sayori walked to home room. She wanted to try and jog her memory so she could help Akechi with the investigation, but her efforts were fruitless. All they did was make her homesick. Sayori might have considered starting a Literature Club herself, desperate to get even the slightest feelings of being home again, but it held too many risks. If she started a new club on her own, there was no guarantee that people would join. If people did join, what would happen if the case was finally solved? Sayori would feel awful to leave a newly formed club so suddenly.

"Good morning, Matsu-chan."

Sayori looked up from her desk and a smile formed on her face. "Good morning, Takamaki-chan!"

Abandoning her previous thoughts, Sayori waved happily. Ann smiled lightly in return and took her seat. Sayori noticed instantly that something was off.

"Takamaki-chan, you seem nervous. You look all fidgety," Sayori said, pointing out the blonde girl's shaking knees, twiddling thumbs, and slightly forced smile.

"Oh! Really? I suppose it's kind of obvious though, isn't it?" Ann tried to chuckle a bit, but it seemed forced. So instead she looked down at her desk.

"I'm just… nervous about a modeling job. That's all. I'd really prefer not to go into details. Besides, I'd probably bore you anyway!" Ann explained. Sayori nodded in understanding. She was about to explain her own dilemma when the bell rang. Getting out a book, Sayori settled into her seat. She needed to finish it soon. It was due today, afterall.

* * *

Free period was always the best part of Sayori's average school day. Choosing to spend it in the library almost everyday had become a custom. Lately, it had transformed into the only thing in Sayori's life that felt close to home. Out of all of the things missing, Sayori missed her club mates most of all.

"Excuse me. Can I help you?"

It was only when the person standing in front of her asked this that Sayori realized she was crying. She hastily wiped the tears away and looked up to see who had addressed her.

A girl a few years her senior was standing before her. She was wearing a black business outfit, with black glasses and a white bow in her hair. Sayori recognized her as the girl that sat behind the library's front desk to check out books.

Realizing that the girl was waiting for an answer, Sayori forced a small chuckle. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm probably just a bit tired."

The girl nodded and took a seat across from Sayori. "That's good to hear. I see you come in here almost everyday, and it was unusual to see you crying. New girl at school? Crying? Those are two things that really shouldn't be combined."

Sayori smiled at her joke. However, the situation felt so familiar she almost started crying again.

"I'm sorry for troubling you. Before I go back to my post, I was wondering if there anything you think I could do for you?" The girl kindly offered.

"It's probably not anything you could help with, honestly. But my most recent problem is that I've had trouble finding a club to join," Sayori felt embarrassed over the simplicity of the problem she was bringing up. But upon finding the girl listening intently, she decided to continue.

"The club I joined at my old school had a bit more, well freedom, than all of the related clubs here. The Book Clubs and Poetry Clubs here seem alright, but the club I was a part of was about literature in general. We'd have tea, occasionally eat snacks, and do all sorts of fun club activities. One of my club mates even kept a manga collection in the closet of the clubroom," Sayori explained.

The girl went into deep thought for a minute. Suddenly a bright smile appeared on her face. "I think I have the solution to your problem. Follow me, please."

The girl grabbed Sayori by the wrist and dragged her to the front desk. While she dug around in the back for a few moments, Sayori took the time to check the name tag at the front desk. _Mai Mori_ , Sayori read quietly. Before she could give it further thought, Mai slammed a piece of paper onto the front desk. Sayori jumped back a little, slightly startled.

"How would you like to be a librarian's aid?" Mai asked eagerly. Sayori took the paper and looked it over. The permission slip did little to clear things up for her, causing her to turn her head towards Mai in confusion.

"I know it sounds boring and busy, but it's really not. Aside from having to check out books, and reshelving returns, it comes with a lot of privileges similar to what you're looking for. There's a back room where we can make tea and have snacks, with permission from the faculty. Not to mention, we can check out as many books as we want," Mai explained, making wild gestures with her hands as she did so.

Looking down at the paper once again, Sayori finally gave a light smile. "I'd love to join, Mori-san."

Mai smiled sweetly. "Perfect. Just have a parent or guardian sign the paper and get it back to me when you can. Until then, since this period is almost over, I'll go ahead and check out that book you were reading." She grabbed the book quickly, scanned it with practiced ease, and handed it to Sayori. Just then the bell rang. Sayori turned to leave.

"I look forward to hanging out with you, Sayori!" Mai called as Sayori started towards her next class. Sayori started to nod in agreement, but then a thought occurred to her.

"Wait. How did you know my name was—"

The hallway became crowded, and Mai's answer was lost to the myriad of voices filling the air.

 **I hope you guys liked the chapter. Sorry for the lack of Yusuke. Also, since a few of you have reviewed saying you didn't get the reference for Sayori's last name, I'll clear it up here. It was a Death Note reference. There is a character in the show with the last name, Matsuda, that kind of reminds me of Sayori. To avoid being killed, he changes his name to Matsui, and then it is shortened to Matsu by one of the characters. I see a lot of people comparing Akechi to Death Note's main character, Light Yagami. Personally, aside from physical appearance, I don't really see it. Anyway, please read and review, and I'll see you next time!**


	13. Ch 12

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

Sayori's first shift as a librarian's aid was turning out to be rather slow. No one was showing up to the library. A few students here and there, but not very substantial numbers. Not to mention the fact that the librarian herself had taken the day off. Sayori spent most of her time reading and drinking tea, while Mai twiddled on her smartphone. Suddenly, Mai spoke up.

"Ugh, I'm _bored_." Mai said, dragging out the word "bored" in the process. "Boss better get back soon." She looked toward Sayori with an idea in her mind. "Say, Sayori, what's your story?"

"Um, what do you mean?" Sayori looked puzzled.

"Y'know, your life story! Like, what do you get up to outside of this?"

"Uh, well, right now I live with a boy named Goro. He's very kind. Outside of that, I mostly read and watch TV." Sayori said, not looking up from her book.

"Huh. He must be the Goro from your application… you guys live alone?" Mai raised a curious eyebrow, putting her hands under her chin.

"Yep. It's a pretty small apartment."

"So where're your parents?" Asked the now immensely curious Mai.

"Umm… I don't know." Sayori said with a sigh.

"Don't know? How do you not know where your parents are?"

"I… don't remember where they are."

Mai raised her hands in surprise. "Well, jeez, Sayori! You could have mentioned that earlier! You lost your memory or something?"

"Yes. I'm sorry for not telling you until now. I don't really want to mention it to everyone. The only person I need to be concerned about me right now is Goro. He's a detective. He'll find my parents," Sayori said, shifting uncomfortably, but smiling nevertheless.

"Ah. Well, your secret's safe with me." Mai looked over toward a boy and a girl standing by one of the aisles. They were holding hands.

"...Say, Sayori, what's this Goro guy like?"

"Well, like I said earlier, he's very kind. He's considerate, and I can tell that he cares about my well-being. He has a bit of a temper sometimes, but he never means to hurt me. I'm happy that he found me, instead of some creepy pervert or something."

Mai looked towards Sayori, smiling. "Ha. Do you like him?"

Sayori felt a bit of shock upon hearing the question. She had never thought about it before.

"Uhm… I- I guess I like him. I like being around him, if that's what you mean." Sayori knew exactly what Mai meant.

"No. I mean, do you _like_ him?"

Sayori's brain was in two different universes at once. She wanted to say yes, but she also wasn't sure. She wanted to give Mai an honest answer, but she also wanted her to just drop the subject. She opted for the second course of action.

"C-c-c-can we talk about this some o-o-other time?" Sayori stuttered as her brain came back to Earth. Mai chuckled at the sight.

"Alright. If you don't want to talk about how much you obviously like this guy, we don't have to."

Sayori took offense at this. "Y'know, you're so formal during school. You should stay like that." She growled, attempting to sound intimidating, but ending up sounding like an angry kitten instead. _You should also stay out of other people's business._

Mai stood up from her seat behind the desk. "It isn't schooltime, though. Right now, I can be myself." She looked down toward Sayori and smiled. "Don't get me wrong, I'm really not trying to make you feel bad. I'm just being myself. Alright, tea time." Mai strode towards the backroom, ready for a tea refill.

Sayori felt like fuming, but she couldn't bring herself to get mad. She could tell that Mai meant what she said. Furthermore, Sayori was too busy thinking about Goro to get angry. She knew in her heart that she felt something towards Goro. She just didn't know what.

* * *

Sayori continued to hopelessly ponder as she headed home. Mai had truly disquieted her today.

 _I loved_ _ **him**_ _so much that I wanted to die… so, being in love with Akechi… what do I do?_

She decided to purge the question from her mind for the moment. She had more important things to do, such as getting home. Strolling through Shibuya's underground walkway, she found herself coming across a familiar face.

"Kitagawa-kun! Hey, it's me, Sayori!"

Yusuke was absentmindedly staring at a can of Arginade, paying no attention to Sayori's words.

"Uh, Kitagawa-kun… what's up?" Sayori quizzically asked as she looked into his focused eyes.

"This color combination… simply repulsive. I do not understand what goes on in the minds of the artists who design these soft drink labels. They're abhorrent."

"Uhm…" Sayori had no words.

"Oh! Hello! I did not realize you were there." Yusuke finally spoke to her.

"I've been here for a while, actually." Sayori said, smiling softly.

"Indeed you have." Yusuke awkwardly paused in order to think of a response. "Well, how has your day been?"

"Pretty alright, all things considered. I got in a bit of a dispute with a girl I work with, but other than that it's been fine."

"Ah. What was the argument about?"

"Just something ridiculous about my guardian. Nothing you need to be worried about."

"You mean Goro-san from Madarame-sensei's art exhibit? The one I believed was your boyfriend?"

Sayori visibly flinched in irritation upon hearing this. "Yes. _That_ Goro." She said through gritted teeth.

"Ah. Well, I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you and your friend can reconcile soon."

Sayori's frustration dispelled upon hearing Yusuke's genuine hope.

 _He may be a bit unaware, but he means well._

"I hope so too. She's certainly an interesting person. Although, she's not quite as interesting as you, honestly."

"Is that so?"

"Yep. In fact, you remind me of my friend, Yuri, from my old school. You're both quite artistic and… unique. She's the type of person who will forget to start speaking, cause she's so focused on other things."

"Indeed…"

Sayori sighed as she looked back on her memories. "Y'know, I really miss her. She wrote poems just like I did. Sometimes we even worked together. She could paint beautiful pictures with just the words on the page. She's a better artist than I can ever aspire to be." She felt a tear start to form in her eye.

Yusuke slowly looked up. "This sadness that emanates from you as you describe your friend…" A milk carton seemed to tip over in his mind. "I must go, there is painting to be done! Thank you, Sayori! This has been a wondrous conversation!"

Yusuke broke into an almost sprint towards his next subway train. As he did, he looked back towards Sayori and shouted.

"Good luck with your boyfriend!"

Sayori was left with no words yet again.

"Uhm… it was nice talking with you, Kitagawa-kun! I guess…"

 **I hope you all like this chapter! Please read and review, and I'll see you next time!**


	14. Ch 13

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

The same question had been plaguing Sayori's mind every day since her conversation with Yusuke. Could it really be possible that she liked Goro in that way? Mai hadn't brought it up since she had first asked, but the way the girl now looked at her made her aware that she was thinking about it. Sayori had longed for a distraction, but when one finally came, she found it rather bittersweet.

The two girl's had been enjoying tea together in the backroom, when Mai decided to turn on the news. "It's been a slow day!" Said Mai, trying to excuse her getting out of work. But when the screen lit up with the image of Yusuke's sensei, the artist Madarame, Sayori got a horrible feeling that something was wrong.

" _I… I have committed crimes that are unbecoming of an artist. Plainly put… I… plagiarized work…"_ The man seemed to feel truly guilty about what he was admitting to, judging by the breakdown that immediately followed. This situation felt all too familiar to Sayori. What the newscaster said next, however, had her gasping in concern.

" _On top of charges of abuse to his pupils, Madarame is under suspicion of claiming their works as his own,"_ the TV flicked off, and Sayori looked over to see Mai, holding the remote, with a deep scowl on her face.

"The nerve of some people. Makes me sick." Mai looked at Sayori with concern. Sayori looked disturbed at the news. "Something up?"

"I actually spoke with Madarame's pupil, Yusuke Kitagawa, a couple of times. The news mentioned abuse of his pupils. I… I think I'm going to go check on him after I'm done here," Sayori grabbed her notebook and began to furiously scribble down lines of text.

"That's very kind of you, Sayori. I'd offer to come with, but I've got an important meeting I need to attend to, concerning my after school job," Mai scowled, giving Sayori the impression that she didn't want to talk about it.

"Anyway, I checked the news last night on my phone. Apparently, calling cards from the Phantom Thieves showed up at Madarame's exhibit," Mai spoke about this so casually, yet Sayori couldn't help but pause from her writing and look up in shock. This confirmed her suspicions. But before they could talk further, the bell rang. They were done for the day.

Sayori ripped the page out of her notebook and folded it up. Slipping all of her things into her backpack, Sayori paused to wave at Mai. She sent a quick text to Akechi to let him know she was probably going to be home later than usual, and set out.

* * *

Yusuke was exiting the shack-like house, loaded down with heavy boxes and a backpack, when Sayori arrived.

"Kitagawa-kun!" Sayori ran towards him, waving her arms to get his attention. After her last conversation with him, she figured it would be beneficial to get his attention quickly. Her tactic worked. Yusuke looked up in shock, nearly dropping two heavy boxes in the process. Sayori quickly closed the distance between them, putting her hands under the boxes and lifting up.

"Matsu-chan, what brings you here?" Yusuke asked, staring at her in slight awe. This confused Sayori.

"I saw the news. I didn't know that Madarame was so horrible, and I wanted to check on you. Also, why are you staring at me like that?" Sayori shifted the boxes slightly, making sure she had a good grip on them.

"No particular reason. I just had no idea you were so strong, Sayori. You're carrying those boxes almost effortlessly," He set his remaining box on the ground, and began digging through it. "I'm fine, by the way. I'm just in the process of moving out. The police left hours ago. I assume they found what they needed." While clearly quite tired after his long day, Yusuke still managed a smile for Sayori. "I was hoping I would run into you. I wanted to show you the painting you helped to inspire."

Sayori set her two boxes down and reached into her backpack. "Really? I wrote this after I found out, and I wanted to give it to you. It's a poem," Sayori grabbed the piece of paper, and handed it to Yusuke, who in turn took out a large canvas. Exchanging items, Sayori caught her breath.

The painting depicted a a dark foggy street, lit up only by the presence of a single streetlight. The light it cast gave the fog an almost humanoid shape. And it was obvious by the patterns of light that the lamp had a candle in it. Once again, Sayori felt a swell of homesickness rise inside of her. This painting really did remind her of Yuri. Glancing at Yusuke, she smiled lightly. He was currently reading the poem she had written not a half hour ago.

 _A tell tale heart confessed today,_

 _of wrongs he had done in many ways._

 _But all the while I was wondering,_

 _pondering,_

 _hoping,_

 _that the victim under the floor was alright._

"Hmm. It's quite heartwarming. I can tell that you more than likely wrote it with what happened today in mind," Yusuke folded up the paper and tucked it into the box he had put the painting in, before looking at Sayori's expression.

"I can see that my work has moved you as well. I was trying to paint what I believed would represent someone who has trouble moving on. The sadness you conveyed inspired me greatly, almost more so than Takamaki-san. While the modelling she displayed was exquisite, it wasn't enough for me to capture the true beauty I had in mind," Yusuke said the last part looking slightly saddened, but Sayori looked up in alarm.

"Takamaki-chan modelled for you?" Sayori recalled her conversation with the girl only a few weeks before. She hadn't wanted to go into details. Not to mention the circumstances… Sayori felt herself start to go pale. Yusuke noticed, and was about to ask what was wrong, when Sayori's phone blared and chirped. She recognized the ringtone as a notification, a text from her guardian, and subject of one of her latest troubles. _Saved by the bell,_ Sayori thought as she got out her phone.

"It's a text from Goro. He wants to know where I am. I need to meet him somewhere. I'm happy to know you're alright, Kitagawa-kun, but I have to go. I love your painting. Can I help you with these boxes before I go?" Sayori, without waiting for an answer, stacked the three boxes. Picking them up, she handed them off to Yusuke. She almost took them back when he nearly tipped over, but he waved her off. Making sure he had a firm hold on the boxes, she ran back the way she came, new worries plaguing her mind.

* * *

 _Ann was a victim of Kamoshida, the first target of the Phantom Thieves. Now she's modelled for Yusuke, the pupil of their second target. In both cases, she was somehow involved. Could that mean… no. Once is a fluke, twice is a coincidence. If the Phantom Thieves strike a third time, and I find out that Ann is somehow involved… Then I'll get suspicious._

Sayori finally settled her thoughts as she arrived at the place she needed to meet Akechi. Looking around the mostly vacant street, she almost didn't notice him leaning against a tree, with two things in his hands. Just seeing him reminded Sayori of her second conflict. She was a lot more hesitant to address it, so she simply walked up to meet him.

"Sayori! I was starting to get worried," Akechi said this with a small smile, looking relieved. Sayori's stomach flipped. Mai's words started ringing in her head.

"Hey, Goro. I'm sorry that I worried you. I only wanted to check on Kitagawa-kun. You saw the news too, right?" Sayori saw Akechi frown a little.

"Yeah, we can discuss it when we get home. I took my bike this morning, since it's such a nice day. I need to take it back with me, so I decided to escort you home today. You'll need this," Akechi handed Sayori one of the items in his hands, putting the other one on top of his head.

He was wearing a blue helmet. Sayori looked down and found a brand new pink one in her hands. Once she had strapped it onto her head, Akechi grabbed her wrist and lead her to his bike. Sayori immediately noticed a problem.

"But, there's only one seat. How can we both ride it?" Sayori felt herself blush. She tilted her head down and hoped Akechi wouldn't notice.

"You'll sit on the seat. I'll stand up and pedal," Akechi explained. He didn't seem too worried, so Sayori hesitantly sat down.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Sayori asked, as Akechi unlocked the chain on the bike and put the kickstand up.

"That's why we have helmets," He said casually. He got onto the bike, about to start pedaling. "By the way, this will probably go a lot more smoothly if you actually hold onto something." Without waiting for a reply, he sped off.

Panicked, Sayori grabbed onto the closest thing she could reach. She cursed her luck when she realized that closest thing was her guardian's waist. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she looked up, about to ask Akechi to slow down. But when she did, she started to enjoy the ride.

Sayori had never really gotten the chance to spend time with Akechi during the day. They were always so busy with other things, or spent their time in the apartment trying to solve what was appearing to be an unsolvable case. Sayori regretted that fact. Akechi's practically glowed with the evening sunlight on his face. He had such a carefree smile. The wind that picked up as he went down the bike path made his hair flow back, practically fluttering.

When he hit a bump in the road, Sayori wrapped her arms tighter around him. But she knew Akechi wouldn't let anything bad happen to her. He never had before. It was in that moment, that Sayori realized Mai was right. She liked Goro Akechi. The realization made Sayori's blush more pronounced. It was at that moment that Sayori realized the bike was slowing to a stop. Akechi was glancing at her.

"You look really hot."

Sayori stuttered, not really expecting the conversation to lead with that. As she tried to muster coherent words, the detective continued.

"You look like you're about to faint. Wanna head down a more shaded route?"

Realization dawned on Sayori as she tried to control her blush. "Oh! Um… Yes, please," she squeaked. _Maybe the shade will hide my humiliation._ She wrapped her arms back around his waist and tried to hide her face from his view. As they passed the last five minutes of the bike ride in silence, Sayori began to feel a pit form in her stomach.

* * *

 _ **fh = open("Zm9yZXNoYWRvdw== . txt", "r")**_

An interruption, a pause, an unknown factor. Things hidden just below the surface are about to be revealed. Soon, a dark conflict will make itself known, choices will have to be made, and nothing will be the same.

 _#apologies for being so vague. it was necessary. the last summary kinda lied, though, cause i'm not evil. I'm just… misunderstood. anyway, the so-called "great evil" that was mentioned before? i've been here the whole time._

#y͏͍̤̫̞͚o͙̰͕̳̗̮ͅu̝̼̹̞ ̷͉͖̲͓̣̦a̯̠͙r̬̰̜e̴n̵'͙͙̟ͅt͝ ͓̗̪̠͍r͞e͞a̵̲̙̪d̴̠y̡̰̭.̥͔͇̦̺̤̪

 ** _fh . close()_**


	15. Ch 14

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

 _Sayori's feet weren't touching the ground. At first, she found this normal. She used to have pleasant dreams of floating endlessly, drifting in the void without a care in the world. But this time it was different. She strangely felt like gravity was still trying to push her down. Everywhere Sayori looked, she could only see the black void she was used to in these kinds of dreams. Why was this happening?_

 _Terrified, Sayori began to suffocate. She struggled and thrashed, lifting shaky hands to remove whatever was blocking her oxygen. With each passing second of her failed struggle, her body grew more weak, quivering as she tried and failed to take in a breath. Sayori tried to scream for help, but all that seemed to come out was a raspy gurgle. Finally going limp, the girl began to cry. A pounding headache threatened to knock her unconscious, but Sayori found she didn't care. There was truly no hope now._

* * *

Sayori burst up, clutching her throat, and taking deep and heavy breaths. As air filled her lungs and Sayori realized she was still alive, tears began to fill her eyes. She didn't think she had ever felt more terrified in her life. When she removed her hands and began breathing normally, a sob escaped her throat. Tears spilled over her face, and soon Sayori was crying so much she found it once again becoming difficult to breathe. Of course, this only served to make her cry harder.

Suddenly, the lights turned on, nearly blinding the crying girl. She barely felt the couch shift as Goro appeared beside her, a tired but worried expression on his face. He was quick to wrap his arms around the girl and attempt to quiet her wails. This only made Sayori more distressed as she sobbed out quiet words.

"Please, go back to bed. Don't worry about me. I'm not… I'm not—"

"Sayori, calm down. I'll go back to bed when you're asleep, too. We both have a busy few days ahead of us, after all," Goro assured. Sayori nodded numbly, recalling the visit to the TV station they would soon be making. She tried to stifle her sobs for a few more seconds.

"I've… just got a headache," Sayori said quietly, giving him a weak smile. This was honestly an understatement. In truth it felt like her brain was pounding inside her skull. Sayori couldn't understand why though. She felt Goro shift, and get up from the couch. When he was sure she was laying down, he put his hand on her forehead.

"You don't feel sick. I'll get some painkillers. They'll help you sleep, too," Goro left the room, leaving Sayori alone with her thoughts.

 _Why do I always feel so horrible when I'm around him now? It's just a silly crush, after all. Thousands of girls, maybe millions, have a crush on him._ Sayori felt tears gathering in her eyes again. It was times like these, when she truly had trouble understanding her feelings, that she wished she could just fall asleep, and never wake up.

* * *

Sayori's class was on a field trip to the local TV station. She could practically feel the nervous pit in her stomach. As of late, she had been trying hard not to worry about her recent concerns involving Ann. Doing so might lead to her accidentally mentioning it to her detective room mate. She didn't want Ann to get in trouble unless she was absolutely positive that it was the necessary thing to do. But now they would all be in the same place together for an extended period of time. Sayori remembered she had told Goro she would try to let him speak to her fellow classmates, but right now that didn't seem like an option.

"Hey, Matsu-chan!" Sayori couldn't help but cringe. Ryuji had found her, and if Ryuji was there then that meant Ann, Akira and Akira's cute cat couldn't be too far off. Putting her usual small smile on her face, she turned to greet them.

"Hello, Sakamoto-kun. I hope you are doing well today," Sayori waved at them happily, only to frown when she noticed the sour expression on Ryuji's face.

"Man… this trip sucks!" Ryuji complained. He perked up and stared at Sayori. "Hey, what happened to you? Did you fall down or something?" Sayori shook her head, a confused look on her face.

"What he's trying to say, Sayori, is that you look messier than usual," Ann said as she joined the forming group, Akira following her. Sayori looked down at herself, a look of understanding passing over her features. Her hair was a tangled mess, her bow about to fall off a strand of hair. The uniform was wrinkled and had small stains all over the collar.

"I overslept, so I was in more of a rush than usual this morning," Sayori explained. This was only partially true. Goro always made sure she woke up on time, but when she had woken up that morning, she could barely function for some reason. Her already drifting thoughts were interrupted when Ann grabbed her wrist.

"I'll help you freshen up, then. We were all about to head towards the bathrooms anyway. Right, Ryuji?" Ann gave Ryuji a deadpan look, before pulling a protesting Sayori towards the bathrooms. The boys shrugged and went towards the bathrooms themselves.

* * *

Ann had left Sayori in the bathroom after she had deemed her presentable enough to continue her day. After taking a few more minutes for herself to make sure everything was to her liking, Sayori headed back into the hall. For once, she didn't really feel like skipping. Goro had said she wasn't sick, but the pit in her stomach made her think otherwise. Trudging down the hall to meet her friends, Sayori froze when she saw Goro's familiar suit and briefcase. Deciding to interject if needed, Sayori edged closer to see what he was talking about with them.

"My apologies, I truly was just passing by. I must be going," Sayori heard him say politely. She sighed in relief. Nothing seemed to be amiss. Smiling, the girl decided to greet Goro. She would be heading home earlier than him, due to the briefing, anyway. As she walked up, Sayori heard the last bits of conversation, and an idea started to form in her head.

"Oh, am I mistaken? I thought I heard something about delicious pancakes—" Goro was interrupted as Sayori enveloped him in a sudden hug.

"Hi, Goro! I was hoping I would run into you!"

"Oh, hello, Sayori! I suppose you would be on this trip, after all."

"Yep, I sure am! I wanted you to meet my friends sometime, but it looks like I didn't have to worry. You got in a few words on your own!" Sayori let go of Goro and gestured to Ann, Akira, and Ryuji. "Anyway, I hope you get through your briefing quickly. See you later, Goro. I wouldn't want you to be late."

"It's nice to run into you too. I'll be going then. Have fun with your friends now," Goro said with a quick smile. After straightening out his clothes from her sudden appearance, the detective quickly walked to his meeting. Sayori watched him turn the corner, the blush that formed on her face not going unnoticed by the other three.

"So, is that your boyfriend or somethin'?" Ryuji asked, startling Sayori out of her stupor.

"D-Definitely not! H-He's just a good friend," Sayori stammered. She was starting to get frustrated at all of the people bringing that up. Looking at the clock, she realized happily that it was time to head home from the TV station for today. Walking away, her idea planted firmly in her head, she pretended not to hear Ryuji's astounded "For real?"

* * *

The moment Goro walked through the front door, he could tell that something was not right. The smell of smoke and the noticeable lack of Sayori in the living room were his first hints. It was the large crashing sound that had him running towards the kitchen.

"Sayori!?" Covering his face with a handkerchief, Goro waved away the smoke starting to gather around him. He went over to the window and pried it open, letting the room air out so he could see better. It was a small improvement, so the instant he heard loud scraping noises over by where the stove was, he was quick to investigate. It was a decision that he would regret less than two seconds later.

"Surprise! I decided to make dinner tonight. I heard you talking about pancakes, and I also knew you were bound to be tired after today… hey, are you feeling alright?" Sayori, adorned with Goro's favorite apron, had quite an innocent look on her face for someone who had somehow managed to ruin pancakes in such a catastrophic way. The lumpy brownish-black things on the serving plate looked far from edible, and was it just him, or was something moving around on the plate?

"Um… I'm perfectly fine, Sayori. But did you just say you were making pancakes?" Goro asked, thinking maybe he had misheard. The normally sweet looking smile and nod that Sayori gave him sealed his fate. _I'm beginning to believe her story about how she almost burned her house down the last time she cooked,_ he thought as he nervously sat down. When he poked his fork into the mess on his plate, he hardly found the uncooked batter that leaked out promising. Looking up, he noticed Sayori smiling at him, probably his ultimate weakness, waiting for his feedback.

 _Well, I've lived… something that could be considered a life, I guess,_ Goro thought as he brought the fork up to his mouth. Choking back a sob as he swallowed, he smiled at Sayori. "It could use some syrup," the detective spoke quietly. Sayori beamed, and ran to the cabinet to get some. As soon as she had her back turned, the detective dumped his plate into the trashcan by the table.

"Hey, Goro?" Sayori asked as she rummaged around the cabinet. Goro thanked his lucky stars he put the syrup on the top shelf, out of the girl's reach.

"Is everything alright, Sayori?" Goro had wanted to ask about last night, but hadn't had the time until now. Sayori had something to say first, though.

"Are you happy, with me here?" Sayori seemed to have more to say, but didn't continue. Instead, she focused on getting the footstool over to the cabinet, having finally found the syrup.

"What kind of question is that? Of course I'm happy with you here. I'll be a lot happier when you're reunited with your family, though. They must be worried about you, after all," Goro rambled on, not noticing the way she cringed. Finally getting the syrup, she went back to the table, only to be confused when she found he no longer had a plate.

"Oh, I suppose I kept you waiting on the syrup. I'll go make more pancakes!" Sayori put the syrup down and started to head back to the stove.

"No!" Goro shouted, springing up from the table. Sayori whipped around, startled. Sweating, he quickly came up with an excuse. "No, no, that's quite alright. I'm pretty tired right now, Sayori. I'm going to go to bed, and I suggest you do the same. We'll clean up tomorrow. Thank you. It was… a wonderful meal."

* * *

Goro Akechi was having quite a good day, but he didn't know why. Sayori's case still hadn't progressed after months, and his second job remained as unfulfilling as ever. He had no reason to be happy, and yet he was. As he strolled into Tokyo's police station, he spotted his associate Sae Niijima, who was perusing some legal documents.

"Hello, Niijima-san!"

"Akechi-kun. You're looking pretty cheery today."

"Indeed! It feels lovely." _I hate it._

"I'm… glad to hear it. Look, we need to talk." Sae was flustered. Something was clearly on her mind.

"Oh? What's going on?" _You know what's going on, you idiot._

"Haven't you seen the news? Ichiryusai Madarame just confessed to multiple counts of plagiarism, theft and abuse. Furthermore, those 'Phantom Thieves' from that Shujin gym coach investigation? They left calling cards everywhere in his latest exhibit. Both men confessed their crimes in the exact same way too."

"Oh my… I saw the news, but I didn't think it would be connected to that case..." Goro was shocked. _Sayori…_

"I was surprised too. We've got work to do. These thieves are committing a crime, multiple crimes, most likely. Criminals don't just admit their misdeeds on live television without some form of coercion involved." Sae was stalwart in her claims.

"No doubts there. But what could their methods even be?" Goro questioned, putting a hand to his chin in deep thought

"Breaking and entering, threats of violence, blackmail, who knows. Point is, we need to figure it out, and catch them."

"I agree wholeheartedly." _Those symptoms… It can't be!_

"Good. The investigation starts today, thank goodness. I can't sleep knowing that these thieves attacked the same school my sister goes to."

"Quite a noble reason to be involved, Niijima-san. I hope I can assist in the investigation." _What a fake piece of trash._

"I hope so as well. You're one of the smartest people I know, believe it or not. I really want you on the team."

"Oh, is that so? Thank you." Goro beamed from ear to ear. _At least she respects me._

"Plus, maybe this investigation could be the one that finally gets me promoted." Sae finally managed a real smile.

"Ah. I hope so. You really deserve it." _Knew it._

"Thank you, Akechi-kun. We seem to be complimenting each other today." Sae said, continuing to smile lightly.

"I suppose it's just a side-effect of my happiness today. They do say that happiness is infectious, after all." _Is that your attempt at humor?_

"Well, hopefully I can stay affected throughout the rest of the day. I have lots of work to do." Sae was about to walk away when a thought hit her mind. "Hey, Akechi-kun?"

"Hmm? What's up, Niijima-san?"

"How is your roommate doing?"

 _No, no, no. Not now. Please._ Goro tensed up slightly upon hearing her question.

"I suppose you do have the right to know, considering I'm borrowing Makoto's clothes for her. Well, to answer your question, Sayori is doing quite well. She's gotten much better from when we first met. Her wounds have healed, and she's even going to school and making friends. I'm incredibly happy for her." _Grr…_

"I'm glad to hear it. Any leads yet?"

 _Stop talking!_

Goro's tone grew sadder as he clutched his briefcase tighter. "None. Honestly, it feels more hopeless by the day. It's been months, someone should have put out some sort of a sign that they were looking for her. She isn't… easy to miss." _And it's all your fault._

Sae looked disheartened at the news. "Ah. I'm sorry to hear that. I won't say anything, just like we agreed. I hope you find her home soon."

Goro loosened his grip as he calmed down. "I hope so too. I really do." He looked forward and into nothingness. The rest of the world disappeared as he lost himself within his own consciousness for a moment. It was in that great expanse of his mind that he found her. But why was she there?

 _You want her, don't you?_

Goro couldn't answer.

 _I bet you're happy that this investigation has been a complete failure._

Nothing.

 _You don't deserve her. She's so much better than you could ever hope to be._

Goro was lost in the dream. He wanted to leave, but at the same time he wanted to stay. Eventually, his forceful exit arrived. The vision began to dissipate as Sae's voice slowly faded in.

"Akechi-kun?"

Goro was startled awake from his thoughts. "W-what?"

"You were staring at nothing for a bit there. What's up?"

"Erm, nothing. I was just… thinking about something. That's all."

"Hmm. I hope it was a nice thought then."

"I guess you could say that." Goro said with an incredibly awkward chuckle.

Sae smiled back. "Well, I'll be on my way now. It was nice talking with you."

"I feel the same. I'll see you some other time."

Goro Akechi was having quite an awful day, and he knew exactly why. Sayori's case still hadn't progressed after months, and his second job remained as unfulfilling as ever. He had no reason to be happy, and so he wasn't. As he stumbled into his office, he found himself unable to escape from the thought of her.

Sayori.

 _Sayori_.

 _ **Sayori**_.

* * *

"Akechi-kun!"

Goro was startled awake from his work-induced haze by the voice of Sae. "What is it, Niijima-san?"

"You might want to brace yourself." She laid down her laptop, which was open to an unfamiliar website.

"What is this?"

"This is a fansite devoted to the Phantom Thieves that popped up just a few weeks ago. They request targets to have a change of heart."

"Alright. Do we have anyone examining all of the requests?"

"Yes. Yaguchi is examining all of them one-by-one. He's the one who showed me this."

"Showed you what, exactly?"

"Scroll down."

Goro took hold of the laptop's touchpad and scrolled. It was at that moment that his heart sank to its lowest possible point.

* * *

 _Please help phantom thieves!_

 _I think my friend wants to kill herself. Her name is sayori matsu. Shes depressed all the time and lonely too! I can't really describe it in text but I mean it. Shes always talking about some school festival she wanted to go to and how she wanted to make everyone happy with her performance. I guess it got canceled and shes super broken up about it. Now shes living with some dude named goro akechi at his apartment. I think hes the one from the tv? Rly strange. I dont know what to do. i need your help phantom thieves!_

 _\- Anonymous_

* * *

Akechi wanted to vomit. He felt as if he was going to crush Sae's computer into pieces right then and there. The anger boiling inside of him was indescribable.

"Who… posted… this?"

"We don't know yet. We're having someone track it as we speak."

Akechi was bright red. He had failed at everything he had set out to do when he brought Sayori into his home. This post was proof.

"I'll…" Akechi had trouble speaking through his self-hatred. "I'll sort this out. I'll find them."

"Find who? The poster or the thieves?"

"I'll find… somebody! Anybody! I'm not going to take this bullshit sitting down!" Akechi shouted as he rose from his seat, fuming like an active volcano.

"Akechi-kun, this isn't like you, calm down! We'll figure this out together, okay?"

Akechi couldn't stand that word. _Together_. Just hearing it made him sick. He was very close to refusing Sae's offer when something in his heart stopped him. It was that familiar pink hair. That red bow. That loving smile. That caring personality. That adorable… everything. It was the thought of Sayori. _I'll fix this… I'll fix all of it… for her._ He opted to take Sae's offer. He breathed in and exhaled.

"...Okay. Let's do it. Together."

* * *

A few days later, Ann walked into class to find Sayori doing something rather unusual. The normally cheerful girl was listlessly rolling a pencil up and down her desk. Somehow, she looked even messier than the day before. It had continued like this the past few days on a constant downward spiral. Ann got to her seat and stared at Sayori for a few moments, noticing out of the corner of her eye that Akira was doing the same.

"How long's she been doing this?" Ann whispered quietly. Akira shrugged, quiet as usual. Morgana probably couldn't tell her either, considering he was hidden under Akira's desk and couldn't see Sayori very well. Ann decided it would have to be up to her then. She tapped on Sayori's shoulder.

"Huh? Oh… Hi, Takamaki-chan. How are you today?" Sayori attempted a smile, but it seemed to fall flat. She went back to focusing on her pencil. Ann tried to smile back.

"Hey, Matsu-chan. I'm doing alright, but I'm more concerned about you. It's hard to believe you could have overslept so many days in a row. Do you want to get snacks after class? They'll be on me," Ann knew she was skirting the main issue, but she also wanted to talk to Sayori in a more private place.

"Don't be concerned about me. I've just had a rough week. It would be a waste of effort to care so much." That was definitely a concerning sentence to hear. Ann couldn't fathom how she could respond to it. Even as she watched Sayori practically wilt in her seat as the bell rang, she couldn't say a single word in reply.

Instead, she quietly got out her phone, sending out a quick text. Ann now knew who she wanted their next target to be. She would never forgive herself if what happened to Shiho happened to someone who sat right next to her in class.

* * *

That afternoon in the library was probably the most tedious afternoon Sayori had ever had. Mai was running late, leaving Sayori to deal with the incredibly rare rush of students that came into the library. The whole experience left her feeling drained. So when Mai finally arrived, it was a surprise to both girls that Sayori hadn't retreated into the back room and locked the door.

"Sorry for being late, Sayori. Something came up. I promise I'll make up for it tomorrow. Tell you what, you can head out early if you want." Mai finally took a moment to look at her pink-haired co-worker, who was incredibly disheveled. "Hey, are you feeling alright? You look a little bit, well, put out," Mai took a chair and sat next to Sayori at the desk. Taking a few moments to clean the ransacked workspace, Mai waited anxiously for an answer.

"I'm fine, Mai. It's just been a long week. No need to worry about me," Sayori replied, having said the same words to many different people all day. At least two teachers had tried to send her to the clinic, but that was the last thing Sayori wanted. If she got sent to the clinic, chances were they would have Goro come. The same Goro that was investigating the Phantom Thieves, worrying himself over a second case involving her, and the same person she had a stupid crush on! It was only when she noticed Mai's smug face that she realized she must have said, at the very least, that last part out loud. It was the only possible reason for such a look from the girl.

"So, I was right," Mai said with a proud smile. "I'd rub it in your face a little bit, but it's almost time to go." Grabbing her things, Mai walked towards the library doors. "Hit me up if you need a wing girl. I'll try and assist, depending on how busy I am. See ya!" Sayori was alone yet again.

* * *

"Mishima sent me another request. We've got a new target. Ann, Ryuji, brace yourselves." Akira said, in his typical calm leader voice. The three were confused.

"Wha… what do you mean?" Ann said, puzzled.

"Yeah dude, what's up?" said Ryuji.

Akira read the request out loud, with each additional detail disturbing Ann, Ryuji, and Yusuke more and more. When he finished, they were speechless.

"Matsu-chan…" Ryuji was dejected.

"I had my suspicions, but I didn't think it was this bad…" Ann said, melancholy

"No!" shouted Yusuke, shocking his friends almost as much as the request did.

"Yusuke-kun?" asked Ann, surprised at his reaction.

"She inspired me to paint something incredible…" Yusuke said glumly.

"So you knew her too… I guess she touched all of our lives."

"That's right. She's our friend. All of us. It's our duty as the Phantom Thieves to take a look," said Akira, inspiring as ever.

"Y-yeah! Let's change her heart! Sayori's a great person, she doesn't deserve to be so miserable!" Ann returned to her normal sprightly self.

"I won't let this stand," Yusuke looked as strong as his warrior persona.

"Alright! Let's check the nav then!"

"So we're all in agreement, then?" Yusuke asked. Everyone else nodded. Ryuji opened the MetaNav on his phone. As he spoke Sayori's name into the app, a hit was registered.

"Alright, Mementos." Nothing happened. Everyone looked at each other in confusion. "Uh, why's Mementos not working on the Nav?"

The Phantom Thieves fell into a thoughtful silence, none of them wanting to address what this meant. However, a thought began creeping into all of their minds. A most surprising thought. It was Ryuji who would be the first one to address it.

"Dude… She has a freakin' palace!"

 **RT: Hello everyone! I hope you all enjoyed this super-power-ninja-turbo-neo-ultra-hyper-mega-multi-alpha-meta-extra-uber-prefix chapter, as the Gravity Falls fans would say! We made this as a gift for a special reason, I'll let my partner explain.**

 **DP: What's up! Co-writer here. I haven't really made myself known quite as much as my lovely partner, but I've actually been writing half the fanfic. I may have PM'd a few of you out there though… Anyway, I'll spill the beans. My partner and I are going on a vacation together this week, after nearly a year of LDR waiting. So, we decided to make an ultra-chapter to tide you guys over till we return to normal. I really hope you enjoyed it.**

 **RT: Yup! We're both really excited, but we didn't really want to leave any of you hanging, as it were. Anyway, as always, please read, review, and we will see you all next time! Bye!**

 **DP: See you space cowboy!**


	16. Ch 15

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

Later that day, the five Phantom Thieves walked up to a small apartment complex. They stayed hidden in an alleyway in order to not be seen. Ryuji got out his phone and opened the Nav, grumbling in frustration.

"This is the shittiest luck ever. Somebody we are trying to help lives with the guy that's trying to throw us in jail!" Ryuji complained. Morgana poked his head out of Akira's bag and glared at the blond boy.

"Quiet down, Ryuji! Your yelling will probably be our undoing long before Akechi is," the cat said with annoyance. Ryuji complied, putting his head down in unspoken frustration. The subway ride to this part of the city had left the thieves with nothing to do except think. The things they all had thought about had one thing in common, Sayori.

Ann had been thinking about nothing other than her own guilt. In Shiho's absence from the school, she had found comfort in the girl that sat next to her. Clearly, however, she hadn't made much of an effort to show it. Sayori had fallen into the same sadness that Shiho had. Ann resolved that if they managed to fix this, she would try harder to become better friends with Sayori. It was, after all, very easy to find the recently hired librarian's aid.

Ryuji, for the most part, was very angry with anyone he thought could be remotely responsible for Sayori's depression. The list included Kamoshida, Goro Akechi, and surprisingly, himself. Whenever he saw the girl in public, he made it a point to talk with her a little bit. Walking her to class on her first day, learning that Kamoshida had already tried to attempt one of his dirty tricks on her, had made him determined to keep contact with her. But talking with her hadn't been enough, and now she had a Palace. They would fix this, no matter what it took.

Yusuke couldn't help but think of the painting he had made with Sayori's inspiration. Had it been more than homesickness he had been sensing as he had made that painting? She was one of the nicest people he had met in a long time, and it hurt him to ponder how much pain she must be in on a daily basis. Yusuke aspired to see every detail of the girl's Palace, he wanted to know of all the hardships she faced everyday.

Morgana and Akira were thinking similar thoughts. What would her Palace be like? Neither of them knew much about Sayori, despite being friends with her. What could they expect from a place that reflected the distortions in her heart? They both knew they would be thinking more personal thoughts later, but for now a strategic state of mind was more helpful.

"So, _Sayori_ and _Goro Akechi's house_ are the obvious words to put into the Nav, right?" Ann spoke hesitantly. As she spoke, the MetaNav confirmed this. Now came the more difficult part.

"What would she distort Goro Akechi's apartment into being?" Yusuke pondered, deep in thought.

"How about a prison?" Ryuji asked, only for the word to be rejected by the app.

"That's definitely not right. From the conversations I've had with Sayori, she's never spoken poorly of Akechi. She wouldn't see the home he offered to her as a place of such misery," Yusuke replied.

"Well, maybe a doctor's office? Like, she sees it as a place where she can heal and get better?" Ann suggested. This too, was denied.

As the rest of the thieves spouted various possibilities for a distortion, Akira thought back towards the Phan-Site post. One line in particular stood out to him.

"She's always talking about some school festival she wanted to go to and how she wanted to make everyone happy with her performance."

 _Could that be it? A festival? But, it's not a very strong connection to her depression..._

He decided to give it a shot regardless.

"Festival," Akira said, unsure of himself. However, the Nav registered it, shocking and relieving everybody. The app began its work of sending the Phantom Thieves into the Metaverse.

* * *

On the outside, Sayori's Palace looked almost underwhelming. In place of the apartment was a much larger school building, with giant double doors and a banner hanging above it. On the banner written in fancy holographic lettering was the announcement _FESTIVAL TODAY, TOMORROW, AND EVERYDAY! DON'T FORGET TO BE HAPPY!_ The Phantom Thieves were surprised that her palace was so plain, but even more surprised to see their clothes not change, even as they walked up to the entrance.

"You'd think there would be more guards at the front," Ann commented. They all pushed open the doors and stepped in. They all stepped back in shock as the room revealed its true form. Gone was the appearance of a school, replaced with a giant open field. Glowing stands with games, snacks and various sideshows stretched on for miles and miles in every direction. People in elaborate outfits strolled calmly through the fairgrounds, enjoying themselves at every turn. Dancers of all sorts performed on stages, while musicians filled the air with wondrous melodies.

The thieves were astounded to find that if they peered up, they saw nothing but the clear night sky above them. Beyond the stands was the most impressive sight of all, a massive, stadium-sized auditorium that shone a bright neon gold. On the top of the stadium lie hundreds of loudspeakers, blaring complex piano music through the night air. Judging by how both Kamoshida's and Madarame's palaces were laid out, the thieves made the assumption that the auditorium was to be their most important destination.

The thieves, still in their casual wear, began to scope out this shadow-filled festival. Ryuji and Ann were astounded by how delicious the food looked, while Yusuke found himself fascinated by various independent art pieces for sale. He found himself disappointed at the realization that anything he brought out of the palace would most likely disappear. However, beyond the exciting amusements, they also saw plenty of disturbing sights.

"Is that… a gallows?" Yusuke asked, horrified. The gallows was sitting in the middle of the field, facing the thieves as they strolled closer to the auditorium. It had a red noose hanging down from it, and it seemingly had no reason to be there.. The thieves were all thankful not to see anybody actually be hung.

They continued onward past the gallows and towards the auditorium. Along the way, they saw someone who looked somewhat like Sayori, but just a bit different. This girl had a different shade of hair color, and a sour expression on her face, not matching her ridiculous outfit in the slightest. Her hair was done in silly pigtails, and she was wearing a dress more fit for a little girl than a teenager. It was this visual similarity that inspired Ryuji to open his mouth.

"Yo, Matsu-chan!" He shouted at the girl. Morgana was infuriated.

"You idiot! That's not Sayori! Even if she was, she's still a shadow!" He growled through his teeth.

The girl turned towards the thieves upon hearing Ryuji's outburst, puzzled. "Matsu-chan? Buddy, you must have the wrong girl." She adjusted her hair with a smug look on her face. "Besides, it's poor manners for guests to shout like that."

" _Guests_?" Ryuji asked in shock. "Is she for real?! For somebody dressed as a cute little girl, you'd think she would be more affected by the gallows than poor manners."

"I'm not cute!" The girl shouted as clenched her fists in rage. The others all jumped in surprise, waiting for her to start attacking them. Instead she merely sighed in annoyance and glared at them.

"The name's Natsuki. I'm surprised you all got lost so quickly. It's my job to make sure everyone here for the festival gets to see the performance. You are here for the festival, aren't you? Come along, now." Natsuki didn't wait for a reply and stalked off, going back the way she came. The thieves all looked at each other, wondering if it was truly the best idea to follow the girl. Natsuki looked back towards them and motioned for them to follow her.

"We don't have any other leads. Nobody here seems hostile towards us right now, so we should just go along with it and hope for the best," Akira finally decided. The thieves all nodded in agreement. They all began to trail behind the girl. All of them couldn't help but think how non-hostile this place was. But at the same time, they remembered this was Sayori's Palace they were in.

Natsuki suddenly halted in her tracks and groaned in frustration. "You have got to be kidding me. She better not have gone to the auditorium by herself! That edgy—"

"Natsuki! I will apologize for being late when you learn to mind what you say! I was simply making sure the rest of the decorations were ready," a new voice spoke out, belonging to a girl coming from the direction everyone else was heading towards. This girl had long purple hair, and wore an outfit somehow more ridiculous than Natsuki's. Taking a moment to dust off the gaudy dress she wore, the girl glared at Natsuki.

"Well, that's still not fair, Yuri! The others said there was going to be a surprise in there, and you get a free pass to spoil it just because you procrastinated!" Natsuki stomped her foot childishly.

"As always, you continue to make assumptions that could not be farther from the truth, Natsuki! I did not step foot in the auditorium! I was merely decorating the entrance hallway of it. What were you doing? Being rude and scaring people away from something that we worked so hard on!" Yuri said this with a superior tone of voice.

Natsuki angrily growled. "Now look who is making assumptions! They were the ones being rude! I was just doing my job."

The two girls, now thoroughly at each other's throats, didn't notice as Akira gestured for his group to keep moving. The "guests" were now sure of where they had to go to find Sayori's shadow.

"Now that we know what we are looking for, we should try to be more stealthy," Morgana said. The others all nodded in agreement and slowed their pace slightly.

True to her word, Yuri had indeed decorated the interior of the auditorium, though what atmosphere she was trying to convey was questionable. The dim natural lighting was harshly contrasted by lanterns giving off a maroon glow. Large framed poems with opulent frames hung from the walls. At first they seemed innocent enough, but slowing down to read them revealed horrifying contents.

"None of these poems have names on them. You don't think Sayori wrote them all, do you?" Ann asked sadly.

"Let's hope not," Akira replied as they continued down the hall, which seemed to stretch on forever through the darkness.

Finally, the group came across a set of glass double doors, giving them a view into the interior. Above it was another banner. _This way to the auditorium! Admission must be purchased with a smile!_

"Admission?!" Ryuji asked angrily. He kicked the door angrily.

"Be quiet. We'll sneak in anyway," Morgana reminded him in frustration. Suddenly, footsteps could be heard coming towards them. Akira gestured for them to hide behind a nearby table, which was elaborately decorated with food.

"You'd think our club president would be kind enough to help us look for these runaways. Why does she have to be such a jerk?" Natsuki grumbled as she stomped at the floor.

"Natsuki, it might be beneficial to be more open-minded. She's just practicing, as usual. This dedication is quite admirable," Yuri said this with a calmer attitude than before.

The two girls continued to idly chat as they passed by the thieves' hiding place. When they were gone, Ryuji looked at everyone excitedly.

"This club president they are talking about has to be Sayori, right? That must mean we're gettin' close," he deduced. Everyone else got out of the hiding place and looked at the auditorium entrance doors. They decided that they would need a new route to get in.

* * *

"God, that sucked!" Ryuji exclaimed as the thieves entered through a window on the roof. The amount of climbing required to get there was excruciating, but it was much better than being caught by palace security.

The thieves snuck down a hallway, looking out for any signs of any important rooms in the area. There was a door marked "Backstage."

"Let's take a look," Akira whispered.

Everyone nodded and crept over. Slipping through the door, they silently made their way backstage. As they peered behind the large pink curtain, they were frozen in shock and fright.

"So that's why it's been so empty," Morgana concluded. "They all came to see the performance."

Every seat was filled as far as they could see with shadows. Above them they could make out balconies seated with even more. Everyone had their eyes on the stage, which had a very familiar face on it. The shadow of their friend had a different uniform on than they were used to. Her now yellow eyes scanned a piece of paper with a sad smile on her face. The constant piano music playing from the speakers seemed to pause as if waiting on something.

"Sayori…" The group of thieves all spoke quietly. However, they weren't quiet enough. The girl looked up from her paper and let out a surprised gasp. It was at that moment that the Phantom Thieves felt their clothes finally change.

* * *

Goro Akechi frowned as he looked at the Phansite posting for seemingly (and possibly) the one-hundredth time. He and Sae had gone over it so much looking for clues that he could probably recite it if he wanted to. They had been unable to track down the person who had made the post, which frustrated the young detective to no end.

 _How could some shitty school-child make an untraceable internet post!?_

Slowly but surely, Goro had come to a risky decision. With no other option to fix this, the detective knew one thing. The thought had been creeping around in the back of his mind ever since he first laid eyes on the post, but now he was sure. He had to see it for himself.

He had sent Sayori out with a grocery list and cash only an hour ago. This would buy him more than enough time. The detective had spent the time since then trying to reason with himself that he could figure something else out. After all, there was a high chance the plans he had already paved with people's lives would be put to waste if he messed up.

But it seemed the highly irrational part of his mind had dismissed this as unimportant. He hadn't been contacted with a new job in awhile anyway. Sayori needed help right now. It seemed with this final thought, that he was once again resolute. Exiting the tab that had been kept open for days, Goro went to the familiar app.

"Sayori," he spoke quietly. The detective cringed as a hit was confirmed. His inner conflict seemed to drown out the sound of the door knob turning. After studying the post for the past few days, the detective had already concluded what the other two words must be. "Goro Akechi's apartment, festival," he finished with a sad sigh. The Meta-Nav registered a hit, and he began his travel into despair.

* * *

Sayori struggled with the bags she was holding. As always, she couldn't seem to get the proper hold on the bags, making it very easy to drop them. It didn't help that she had recently been feeling more and more like trash. So, when Goro had asked her to go shopping for him, she leapt at the chance to be useful.

Finally arriving at the apartment door, she carefully set the bags down so she could open the door. On the other side she could hear her room mate blearily say her name. This once again made her heat sink. Forcing a smile onto her face, she carefully twisted the knob. As she started to push open the door, she could barely make out Goro saying something else.

"Festiv- Huh?" Sayori said in confusion. A sudden headache came over her as she made a shaky attempt to enter the apartment. In front of her she could see the back of Goro's head, who didn't seem to notice her. Stepping inside, she stumbled and tripped as the scenery around her changed.

* * *

When Sayori regained her bearings, she heard a door in front of her slam shut. Opening her eyes, she nearly screamed. Where was she? What had even happened? And more importantly, where had her roommate gone?

 **It's good to be back! I hope you guys like this chapter. We put a lot of effort into making it after our splendid vacation finished up. We'll be back on our regular schedule again. Anyway, please read, review, and we will see you next time!**


	17. Chapter 16

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

The thieves stood in shock as they looked upon Sayori's shadow. She was adorned with what appeared to be a school uniform quite unlike Shujin's own, albeit seemingly modified to function as an elaborate dress. A torn, unbuttoned, warm grey dress jacket lay atop a brown sweater. This transitioned into a long, tattered, dark blue skirt, which looked closer to a flowing bordeaux dress. Atop the shadow's head was a large, bright red cartwheel hat. Her trademark bow was nowhere to be seen. In comparison to the other shadows the thieves had met on their journey, it was a far more conservative outfit than anything they had faced so far. As she rose from her seat on the stage, the piano music stopped, as did the crowd's chatter. An eerie silence filled the room as a replacement.

"Well… what do we have here?" Shadow Sayori finally spoke up as she faced the thieves, menacingly gesturing towards them. A small smile was on her face. She looked at the thieves with a mocking innocent look.

Akira's mind was racing as he tried to come up with an escape plan. He motioned the team to stay silent.

"Giving me the silent treatment, huh? That's alright. I don't need you to make noise for me. I've got all the noise I need right here." She faced the crowd and spread her arms wide, as if to hug them. "Isn't that right, everyone!?" The audience of shadows all broke into a raucous, joyful shout. "Don't you see? They _love_ me."

The thieves scanned the audience in greater detail as Sayori spoke, and were shocked as to what they found. They could recognize almost everyone in the audience as being from their school and around the city. Students, faculty, various adults from the streets of Tokyo, and even unfamiliar faces, everyone was seemingly lumped into the giant auditorium haphazardly.

 _Mishima, Student Council Prez Makoto… Ms. Kawakami!?_ Thought Ryuji, disturbed.

The exterior of the auditorium had expertly hidden the state of the theatre itself. Dust lined the crevices and holes of the walls, while the broken glass ceiling let in copious amounts of moonlight. The decaying room was clearly far over its capacity limit, with hordes of people crushed into every spare inch left. Worse still were the conditions they were in. Those who managed to find a seat were bound by iron cuffs, while mechanical apparatuses forced their eyes open and facing towards the stage. In the upper levels of the auditorium, balconies lined the peeling walls. In those balconies sat the thieves, in their casual wear, bound and forced to watch the shadow's performance. Strangely enough, nobody seemed bothered by their restraints.

At the very top was a box marked _Special Guest_. It glowed with gilded trimmings and an opulent, solid-gold throne, adorned with jewels, contrasting the rest of the room heavily. Special attention had been made so that the person in there would be in relative luxury. In the throne sat none other than Goro Akechi, glazed over and seemingly comatose, bound with dark red strings. Every few seconds, he would glance at the stage, a look of slight interest in his eyes, only to lose it and go back to his malaise.

Shadow Sayori looked towards Goro dotingly, then faced the thieves yet again. "I'm all they'll ever need. They have no reason to live if they aren't happy. I'm just saving them. I shall enthrall them with my poems, serenade them with my songs, and captivate them with my affection. And when the performance is over… Well, death's just the greatest happiness of all, isn't it? No cares, no worries, just… nothing." She said as she smiled.

"We love you, Sayori!"

"You make us so happy!"

"Please, never leave us!"

"SAYORI! SAYORI! SAYORI!"

"Those are the cheers of people who understand. They've learned the truth through my performance. If all that faces you in life is misery, why continue going on? They've learned that I, Sayori, can give them what they need. My happiness is their happiness, after all."

The thieves stayed silent. Shadow Sayori's eyes began to glow brighter. "You aren't going to accept my gifts after all, are you?" Her smile turned into a frown. "Then I shall smite you where you stand! GUARDS!" She cried as two shadows appeared to her side.

"Guys, run!" Akira shouted as he threw down a smoke bomb. He directed the thieves toward an exit he had seen earlier. As they ran, they could hear the continuing shouts of the shadow audience echoing through the halls.

* * *

Sayori had finally managed to get her bearings, but her head was still spinning. She had just been transported from Goro's apartment to somewhere completely different. Goro himself was nowhere to be seen. But even with these incredible circumstances, it was when she looked up at the building in front of her that she felt the greatest shock.

"Is this… my old school!?" The building, even when disguised in a coat of darkness by the night sky, was still recognizable. She looked up at the banner above the door. "Festival today, tomorrow and everyday… there's no way!" Sayori turned around and looked toward the horizon. The road outside her school continued on for a bit and then stopped, enveloped by a black void that stretched on forever.

 _Where did my neighborhood go?_

Sayori peeked around the corner of her "school", and was chilled to find even more darkness. It seemed that she was on a solitary, floating island. Deciding that she had no other options, she went through the door under the banner.

 _What the..._

Inside she found a massive, sprawling field, coated by darkness. The only light to be found was that of the moon and a large building in the distance. Wooden carny stalls with large advertisements were closed for business. Various souvenirs, food items and soft drinks coated the grass. There was not a single soul to be found as far as Sayori could see. In the distance stood what appeared to be a massive auditorium. After much deliberation, Sayori decided that it was the best place to look if she wanted a way out of this place.

In the darkness, the fairgrounds became far more frightening. The shadows and creaks of the wooden stalls made Sayori feel as if she was being hunted by monsters. The freezing cold and the blowing of the wind through the endless grass of the field did not help matters.

 _This is horrible… where is Goro?_

Sayori began to call out for him, hoping for a response.

"G-Goro! Where are you!?"

For a few minutes she continued, but to no avail. The only response she received was that of her echo in the night. Still, she continued.

"Goro! I… I need you! Please!"

Eventually, Sayori received a response.

"Oh my… and who do I have the pleasure of finding here today?"

 _That voice… Natsuki!?_

It was indeed Sayori's friend, albeit in a completely different outfit than she was used to. Gone was the energetic school girl Sayori had come to know. Instead of her uniform, she now wore a pink dress with puffy sleeves and a flat collar. Her hair was done in pigtails. Natsuki's childish appearance seemed straight out of the 1940's.

Natsuki stood in front of Sayori with her hands cupped at her waist. Her new look did nothing to hide the nasty look on her face as she studied Sayori.

"N-Natsuki!? What are you doing here?" Sayori backed away with shock.

"Oh, dearie, I'm here to make sure everyone enjoys their time at our festival, and gets to see the performance."

"Festival? But it's closed…"

"Oh, don't worry about that. Simply a security measure. Some thieves were trying to ruin the show earlier, but we have everything on lockdown now. Now, come along, it's almost time for the performance to begin!"

"But, Natsuki! We've gotta get out of here! Something is horribly wrong!"

"Yes, what's wrong is that you won't come with me to see the performance. The club president has put so much work into the performance, and you're going to disappoint her."

"Club president? But-"

Natsuki started to get angry. "Stop. Talking. We have to get moving."

"No! We have to leave!"

Natsuki growled in frustration, then began to scream as she went through a horrifying transformation. Bloody tears spilled from her eyes, taking the form of a pallid mask. Coal black spots appeared where her eyes would be. Her mouth a horrifying and exaggerated smile below. The final touch to the horrifying transformation, was Natsuki doubling in size. Sayori stood in horrified shock as her friend rushed towards her.

"YOU MISERABLE WRETCH! WE ARE GOING TO WATCH THE PERFORMANCE, WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!" Natsuki, now transformed, grabbed hold of Sayori and dragged her into the auditorium. Sayori could do nothing but scream.

* * *

 _This accursed darkness… Wish I brought a flashlight._ Goro mused to himself as he roamed the halls of the massive auditorium, sneaking past shadows in the process. He needed to find a way to fix Sayori from the inside. This palace simply wouldn't do.

 _Perhaps I could figure out what those Phantom Thieves do and change her heart… Ridiculous._

Goro opted to follow the sounds of the massive crowd and piano sounds that were somewhere in the building. In his experience, areas such as that were where the palace ruler happened to reside. However, he regretted his decision as soon as he found Sayori's shadow.

 _Sayori… is this how you truly feel?_

Goro felt as if he was going to puke as he saw the apparent state of Sayori's mind. She had done an incredible job hiding it.

 _You made this worse, y'know._

Disregarding the massive shadow audience, Goro found himself only able to watch Sayori's shadow from the dark corner he hid in. As she carried out her pitiful performance, all he could feel was unbearable agony.

 _She's been trying so hard, and you didn't even see it._

He felt even more miserable as he looked toward his own shadow, forced to watch her attempts to make him happy for all eternity. The uninterested version of him seemed to glance over for a second, before looking away. The red strings that trailed from the seated shadow lead somewhere out of the room.

 _Is this what she thinks I am? Just a mindless husk who hears none of her affection? That's a lie!_

This realization caused him to flinch. Something had to be done. He just didn't know what.

 _C'mon, ace defective, come up with a plan._

Goro couldn't come up with a plan. He opted to continue exploring till he could think of one. He needed to leave this nightmare behind him.

As he continued down the dark hallways of the auditorium, he came across a most curious room. He could hear a slow, soft piano melody, different from that which was playing in the theatre, leaking out from under the door. However, as he opened the door, the music ceased.

Upon stepping in, the detective found the room abandoned. The only sign of any life in the room was a single swinging lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. To the back of the room was a large, black piano. Patterns in the dust indicated that it had been recently used. On top of this piano lay a piece of paper, folded into an envelope with a small heart sticker sealing it. Goro decided to investigate. He picked up the letter and began to read.

* * *

" _Dearest Ace Detective,_

 _I regret to say that I am the one who helped bring this nightmare into existence. I have been watching her for as long as you have, perhaps even longer, but now I find that I no longer have the will to inferere. She is in your hands now. Please make the best of it._

 _However, there is one last interference I must make before I take my leave. Please, read carefully. To your left are two notebooks. The pink one is yours to keep. Take the black one and place it backstage. That is all. The purpose shall become clear in time._ "

* * *

Goro placed the note down, firmly in shock. True to the note's word, two notebooks sat on the bench to his left. He could've sworn that they weren't there before.

 _...What the hell have I gotten myself into?_

* * *

Sayori continued to scream as Natsuki dragged her through the halls. Despite her efforts, it seemed that no one was coming to her aid. She nearly had resigned to her fate when she heard a voice break through the silence.

"I'll reveal your true form!"

She felt a rush of wind as someone, dressed in black, leapt on top of Natsuki.

"What the!?" Natsuki shouted.

Suddenly, Sayori felt Natsuki's grip begin to loosen. She ran towards the wall to safety before looking back. A team of people, armed with various weapons and dressed in fantastical outfits joined the first man. They all watched as Natsuki seemingly melted in front of them, before transforming yet again into a massive, bipedal red creature wielding a large, silver weapon. She began to shout once more in an incredibly deep voice.

"DO YOU SEE NOW, THIEVES!? I'M NOT CUTE! I'LL DESTROY YOU! NEVER AGAIN SHALL YOU DEFY THE CLUB PRESIDENT! NOW THEN, LET'S PLAY!"

Natsuki began to charge at the man in black, who managed to swiftly dodge. Sayori watched in shock as he took hold of his mask and shouted, "High Pixie!" Suddenly, a woman with wings and white hair materialized behind him. She cast a powerful, green gust of wind at Natsuki, who recoiled in pain. This process continued with the rest of his teammates, who all summoned their own creatures of various shapes and sizes.

"Witness my resolve!"

"Dance, Carmen!"

"Whip 'em, Persona!"

"Goemon, strike!"

Sayori felt as if she was going to faint. What was ensuing in front of her was more like a spectacular light-show than a fight. Gusts of wind, bursts of flame, bolts of lightning and gigantic icicles were all converging upon what was once her friend, who was showing signs of fatigue.

"Team, let's finish this! I'm going to try and knock her down!" The man in black stepped forward, a determined set on his features.

"But dude, she resists everything we've tried!" One of his comrades tried to argue. Sayori, looked at him in confusion from where she cowered. She hadn't expected that any of them would talk like that.

"Not everything! Obariyon!" A strange red creature appeared. "Ravage them!" The creature summoned a large orange boxing glove attached to a spring and launched it at Natsuki. She fell to her knees. "Let's go! All-out Attack!" The team leapt into the air in a coordinated fashion, before launching a series of lightning-fast attacks against Natsuki. Sayori could hardly pick out their physical forms as they darted from place to place. Suddenly, they returned to battle formation as Natsuki's monstrous form exploded. It soon melted yet again, transforming back to Natsuki. The battle was finally over.

"B-but… her happiness… no…" Natsuki lay on the ground, defeated. She glanced at Sayori, giving her an apologetic look.

"Eff her 'happiness!' It's a load of bullshit!" Shouted the yellow-haired one, arrogantly. Sayori didn't know whether or not she should be offended.

Natsuki could only laugh. "Heh… criminals say the damnedest things. I'm nothing compared to her power, anyway..." She turned around on her back and looked towards the sky. "Sayori... I… I'm sorry… for forgetting… G-Goodbye…" Natsuki groaned as her form began to fade away. She soon disappeared.

"Shit… now I'm kinda depressed…" Spoke the yellow-haired one yet again. The red-suited girl and the white-tailed man could only nod in agreement. The black-suited man and the strange, cat-like creature came up to Sayori.

"Hey there. Seemed like you needed some help. The name's Joker," the man said with an air of coolness.

"Morgana, at your service!" The cat creature stepped closer to her, only for Sayori to curl further into the wall.

"Sup, I'm Skull," the yellow-haired one lightly pushed Morgana behind him, the creature aggressively objecting to it.

"Panther here!" The blonde girl winked, giving Sayori a friendly smile.

"My name is Fox. I'm pleased to meet you," the one with the tail merely pointed to himself. Sayori couldn't help but think it was a bit awkward. She wasn't the only one who noticed.

"Real smooth intro there, dude." said Skull, sarcastically.

"Did you think so? I quite liked it myself." Fox smiled. Skull could only groan.

Sayori was still quivering on the floor even after the introductions. "W-who are you? And what the heck did I just witness? What happened to Natsuki!?"

"We're the Phantom Thieves. You may have heard of us. We're here to change a heart. _Your_ heart, in fact." Joker said suavely.

"My… heart?" Sayori was still confused. She looked around the hallway, trying not to hyperventilate.

"Yes, your heart. It seems that one of your deep seated desires has become so strong and distorted that it created this place. It's called a palace." He explained. "We're in an alternate dimension called the Metaverse, where palaces are formed." He could still see the look of fear and sadness in her eyes as she looked over to where Natsuki once lay. He kneeled down to Sayori's eye level. Even through his mask, she could see bright, kind eyes. "Don't worry. None of this is real. That girl we just fought? That's what your heart thinks she is, deep down. That's why she looked and acted so strangely."

"But, but…" Sayori had so much to say, but she couldn't get any of it out.

"It's alright. We're gonna get you out of here soon enough. Then, you won't even need to think about it." He promised, confidently. Sayori nodded. "Alright, guys, we've got a guest. Be extra careful. Let's go." He offered her a hand up. The thieves, with Sayori in tow, started to backtrack towards the entrance of the palace.

The thieves were about to exit the auditorium when they heard a noise. It was a strange sort of rustling. They went on alert for any threats when suddenly their exit was cut off. A massive sheet of paper covered the window they had broken in through. They tried to destroy it with their Personas, but to no avail.

"Foolish thieves. Did you truly think that you could escape?" A voice echoed throughout the room from a loudspeaker. Sayori knew that voice very well. _Yuri!?_

"You _will_ see the performance. The club president wills it. Her word is law."

"Oh yeah!? Whaddya gonna do about it!? Turn into some big monster like your pal Natsuki!?" Skull sneered.

"Ohohohoho, no. No, no, no. Natsuki was a petulant little girl. I am far less uncouth. I would never resort to transforming into some foul beast. My plan is far more elegant." Yuri laughed. "Guard! Pull the lever!"

Suddenly, pink-tinted smoke began to flood the room. The thieves and Sayori started coughing, then began to feel incredibly numb. Sayori felt fear beyond imagination as her view became nothing but dark. Right before her heavy eyelids closed, she saw a pair of sandaled feet strutting towards her.

* * *

The thieves awoke, back on the auditorium stage. They were individually tied to wooden posts, gagged and bound. But what was more immediately alarming was where Sayori was trapped. The gallows from before had been brought on stage, with Sayori chained only centimeters away from the noose. No matter how much she wriggled, she couldn't break free from her bonds. Shadow Sayori, now blinded by rage, began to preach yet again as the crowd grew ever louder.

"Witness! These are the fools that reject my happiness! They continue to fight, even in these circumstances! Do they not see the joy of giving up!? Of ending their pathetic attempts at living!? Perhaps they will never understand. However, as you all know, I am kind and loving. I still intend on giving them the ultimate happiness. The greatest gift that I can give, that of death!" Shadow Sayori shouted. The crowd nearly exploded with shouts.

"SAYORI! SAYORI! SAYORI!"

Meanwhile, Sayori herself began to shout. "No! Don't kill them!"

"Oh, I don't intend to kill them. At least, not directly. No, I have a much, much better plan. You are the source of this world. Even above myself. So, if I kill you, then everyone will experience the pure joy of death, all at once. A lovely plan, don't you think?" Shadow Sayori walked up to the frightened girl, slipping the noose around her neck with a smile.

The captives all then noticed an unsettling detail about the noose. The rope it was made from trailed from the back, leading all the way across the audience, trailing up to the balconies. Spilling onto the floor of the one marked _Special Guest_ , it bound the shadow of Goro Akechi. Sayori, horrified, began to scream.

"Stop this! This isn't happiness! This is torture!" The real Sayori tried to lean away from her shadow's reach, to no avail.

"Is it any less tortuous than continuing on living? This pain, this misery, it is only temporary. It shall be over in just a few moments. However, to continue on living, that is the true torture. Everywhere you go, everyone you meet, you burden. You are truly useless. You actively make other's lives harder just by existing. Those thieves there? They wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. And Goro too… You've brought him so much pain. The only way that you can make anyone happy now... is with your death," The shadow gently gripped Sayori's chin, lifting her head up so they could face each other. Her voice had taken on a sweet lilt.

"I… no…" Sayori was starting to feel the truth of the shadow's words. She didn't know what to believe bowed her head in resignation, tears slowly falling down her face. _Maybe… Everyone can be happy now..._

"Don't believe her, Sayori!" Joker shouted.

"Yeah, it's all bullshit!" Skull added.

"You need to hold onto the beauty of living, Sayori!" yelled Fox.

"We all have a purpose in living, you just need to find it!" cried Morgana.

"Please, Sayori! Killing yourself isn't the answer! It never is!" Panther screamed, a look of desperation illustrated clearly on her face.

"They say that now, but when you are finally erased, they will not care that you are gone. One less burden to worry about," Shadow Sayori sounded calm, but Sayori could feel her grip tighten around her jaw.

"That's not true!" All of the thieves began to scream in unison. Sayori tearfully looked up, wondering who to believe.

"Don't listen to her!"

"She's just a damn phony!"

"She's not real! None of what she says is true!"

Sayori heard the thieves words and began to feel an incredible flame within her heart. _Not Real…_

Something was building up within her. Something very, very powerful. Sayori began to quiver. White noise erupted in her ears, turning into a loud melody. _Not Real…_ Those words were like a constant heartbeat in her head as she tried to process everything. She opened her eyes, only to be blinded by a bright light.

Then, very suddenly, she heard a voice.

 _Nothing is real, after all._

 **RT: Hey, sorry for posting late. Due to some minor complications, we had to edit last minute. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!**

 **DP: Hey there! I have to admit, this chapter was tough. If not for my lovely partner, I don't think I would've ever gotten it done with any semblance of quality. However, the power of teamwork prevails! I really hope you enjoyed it.**

 **RT: Anyway, for a lot of people, school will be starting soon. I wish anybody who is going back soon the best of luck. As always, please read, review, and we'll see you next time!**

 **DP: See you space cowboy!**


	18. Chapter 17

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

" _So your eyes have finally opened to the bigger truth. Yet, I still sense darkness in your soul that should not be there. Are you really going to let your comrades fall, simply so you can selfishly die? Do you truly see it as a noble sacrifice for you to die defending them?"_

"No! That's not…" Sayori was frozen in shock. The part of her that should have been registering the immense pain in her body only making her feel numb.

" _Perhaps there is a way to fix that which has been torn apart. Think back and look deeper… Those horrible things_ _ **she**_ _said to you. Tell me, are you going to remain chained by her words?"_ The rope around Sayori's neck was beginning to feel tighter. She was running out of time. Yet, she knew exactly what the voice was talking about.

"Oh…" Words that had been unknowingly haunting her ever since she had come here came rushing into her skull. Like a spell being broken, false tranquility shattered, and the painful words kept repeating. _Not real, Not real, Not real_. Sayori was launched back into her supposed reality and let out a shrill scream. "NO!"

" _Then hear my words. The world will always be cruel, but there is still happiness to be found, as long as you live for yourself!"_ Sayori finally began to calm down, her scream going quiet. She looked up to see her yellow eyed counterpart. This part of herself that others fed off of under the guise that this would make her happy… How had it gotten so bad in such a short time? Lost memories were pouring into her head, convincing her of one thing. This couldn't continue.

"You're right," Sayori glared at her shadow, a rare hint of anger and pity showing through her features. "That's not who I want to be anymore!"

" _I see. Let us work together then. I am thou, thou art I. We shall live for no one but ourselves!"_ A piece of gold seemed to form around Sayori's face. While she couldn't understand everything, the girl knew what she had to do. Bringing her hands up, she put her hands around the foreign mask. She let out a gasp as she ripped it off, taking a good amount of skin with it.

* * *

The others merely stared in shock as a massive, bright pink aura built up around the girl. Out of all the things they had expected to happen, this wasn't it.

"Who would have guessed?" Ryuji asked. Even though he was still tied up, he had a big smile on his face.

Just as he spoke, Sayori walked out of the dust with a look of determination. A bright light in her eyes shone, as if she had awoken from a long nap. Instead of her normal clothes, she was now adorned with a black, slim overcoat with gold accents. Her trousers and knee-high boots matched the coat in color. She wielded a silver shortsword and a white shield. These dark implements were in contrast to the brightly colored being that hovered behind her. It was massive, nearly double the size of Sayori herself. Bright red butterfly wings surrounded what appeared to be a thorax. Ghostly white gloves floated next to a ginormous white dress, detailed with flowers.

"I'm sorry… for myself," She looked at the now frightened distortion of herself. "Maybe I used to be like you, but I won't ever be again. Phsyche, let's finish this show!"

The orchestra of her imagination roared in her head as Sayori moved her hand in a grand sweeping motion. The ropes around the Phantom Thieves were disintegrated from the sheer power of Sayori's persona. Quickly escaping their bonds, they ran to join the fight.

A figure emerged from around the corner, the last line of defense between Sayori and the hideous distortion before her. Dressed in a silver wraparound dress and silky stockings, Yuri stood defiantly with a knife held to her wrist.

"Get out of the way, Yuri. This will be over much more quickly if you do," Sayori looked slightly sad at seeing this horrible version of her friend, but she wasn't going to back down either.

"No, I'm afraid to say this is the only way to keep things the way they need to be. It's time to give you a taste of true Hell!" With a single slice of her knife, Yuri had transformed into a monster, just like Natsuki. It was humanoid, orange, and had a massive mouth running down its entire figure.

"How hypocritical," Sayori said, a small sigh escaping her mouth. Immediately, the figure released a large burst of energy, knocking the shadow of her friend to the ground. "There's no more time for negotiating. I'm finishing this while I still have the chance." Sayori turned to the thieves. Now in the right state of mind, she saw through their disguises. "I'm sorry you guys, but I need your help!" The others smiled at her before nodding.

"Let's get started!" Sayori screamed with a loud battlecry.

Shadow Sayori burst with energy. Her form became that of a giant, crude crayon drawing of Sayori, hanging from the ceiling. Her eyes gushed with bright red blood. With an incredibly distorted voice, she cried out, "Yuri! Attack!" Yuri, now in monstrous form, commenced her attack. Dark green gas erupted from her massive mouth. It coated the thieves, who had no clue as to its effect. Sayori, for whatever reason, remained immune. Shadow Sayori followed up by firing massive paper airplanes at the thieves. They began to bleed uncontrollably.

"Dude, what's going on!?" Ryuji shouted.

"She's giving us papercuts!" cried Ann.

Shadow Sayori began to raucously laugh. "I shall destroy you puny thieves!" The crowd behind her cheered louder and louder. "Everyone! Think happy thoughts, and give your power to me!"

Sayori was confused as to how she managed to avoid the bleeding. _What did I do different?_ She called upon her persona, feeling the name of a technique in her heart. She raised her shield and shouted, "Physche!" Suddenly, a magical shield was erected around Akira.

"What is this!?" He shouted.

"I don't really know, but it seems pretty powerful to me!" replied Sayori.

Akira smiled at Sayori's enthusiasm. He looked towards the rest of the team and commanded, "Everyone, focus on Yuri! This air is causing us to bleed out easier!" How he managed to intuit that was unknown to the rest of the thieves.

"Okay!" They shouted in unison. "PERSONA!"

One by one, the thieves' personas arrived in the arena.

"Captain Kidd!"

"Zorro!"

"Carmen!"

"Goemon!"

"Physche!"

A spectacular fireworks show of elements combining into one massive attack descended upon Yuri. The pain was unbearable, and soon Yuri disintegrated into nothingness. The air remained, but Akira was sure that it wouldn't last much longer.

"You accursed thieves! How dare you kill my friends!? You have the nerve to call yourself noble, in the face of such despicable crimes!?" Shadow Sayori cried.

Shadow Sayori's noose began to glow. She gained a bright red glow as she began to increase in power.

"This power… it's crazy!" shrieked Morgana, astounded.

She raised her arms up and pointed them towards the thieves. The blood on the tips of her hands, which were boiling with her rage, became sharp, hot projectiles.

"Everybody, dodge!" ordered Akira. The thieves leaped out of the way, but Akira could not escape. He was prepared to take the brunt of the damage, but he felt nothing. Sayori's shield had protected him.

"Thanks for that!" He gave Sayori a thumbs up. "Now, time for the show! Take-Minakata!" A massive horned creature with long blonde hair, wielding a sword appeared behind him. "Assault Dive!" The creature swiped with his sword as the air in front of him was seemingly cut. Shadow Sayori recoiled in pain. The rest of the thieves took advantage of the situation as they focused their attacks yet again.

When the team-attack ceased, Shadow Sayori was enraged. "NO! I WON'T LET YOU WIN! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" The shadow's noose started to glow even brighter, as her face grew fierce and angry. She began to focus her energy as she started to form something powerful above her.

"What the hell is she doing?" inquired Ryuji.

"Whatever it is, we better get ready for it!" clamored Akira. "Everyone, we can't block this one! It's too strong! We're gonna have to try and dodge!"

"But, that thing's enormous! How will we get out of the way!?" shouted Ann, panicked.

Sayori felt something in her heart yet again. "I've got you! Masukukaja!" Her persona appeared yet again, casting a green burst of energy onto the rest of the thieves. They suddenly felt far more limber and fast. Sayori had raised their agility.

A massive pink notebook, as long as the stage the battle took place on, appeared above the shadow. On the front cover was nothing but a percent sign. "YOU FOOLS! WITH THIS ATTACK, I SHALL DESTROY ALL OF US, EVEN MYSELF!"

"She's going for a suicide attack!?" exclaimed Morgana.

"It's alright! We'll have no problems dodging now, thanks to our new friend!" smiled Akira, coolly.

"DIE!" cried the shadow as she launched her ultimate attack. The pink notebook began to descend from the ceiling. The thieves were below it one second, but gone the next. Their dodging plan had succeeded. True to her word, Shadow Sayori was crushed beneath the book. As it disappeared in a puddle of red and black ooze, her paper form lay crumpled on the stage. However, her noose began to glow yet again.

"Looks like she ain't done after all!" shouted Ryuji.

"She's gonna recharge!" cried Ann.

Yet, as soon as they finished speaking, the shadow's noose seemingly sliced in half. The wind was disturbed by some force in the air. The thieves couldn't pin down a source, but they didn't mind. At long last, the battle was over.

* * *

Goro Akechi was working his way to the palace's exit when he heard it. A haunting, familiar scream seemed to echo through the halls.

"Sayori?" He whispered, before he practically launched himself back the way he came. The detective dodged each and every obstacle in his path. Swerving around each and every shadow he passed, not really caring if he was spotted at this point, the young man managed to find a decent hiding place hidden from view to see what was going on.

His mouth dropped open in shock. He was hardly in the right state of mind, judging by the first thoughts he had as he witnessed from afar the transformation his roommate had made.

He knew the picture of her wearing the all black attire of a true noble was going to be ingrained in his memory forever. The calm look that gave off an air of protection only making him further convinced of this. It made him happy. The person she was, underneath all of the heartache and pain she endured, was every bit as amazing as the happiness she tried to project into the world on a daily basis.

Goro noticed something just as exciting, but also disheartening as he chanced another look at the new battlefield. He was willing to bet anything the people beside her were the Phantom Thieves. As the battle began, the detective continued to watch. He sincerely hoped that it wouldn't come to pass, but he fully intended to step in if needed.

The battle was nearly finished, but Goro knew that Sayori would need a little more help. As the massive shadow crushed itself with its powerful attack, he finished the job for Sayori and her team. The shadow's noose was sliced, its power source gone for good. He smiled as he thought of the fact that Sayori was now safe. He was sure they would find each other later, hopefully without the presence of the Phantom Thieves.

* * *

Shadow Sayori fell to the ground, a sad smile on her face. "I suppose this is my punishment, right? I failed to make them all happy. She was right all along."

"No. You both are wrong. I was too, by extension. The two of us being miserable isn't making anyone else happy. At least not anyone that matters. Depression is a truly horrifying monster. It was always there, and it probably always will be, and we chose to let it grow," Sayori kneeled by her shadow, a sad but gentle look on her face.

"This place isn't a representation of this depression I carry. I understand that now. It's here because it was so bad. Stealing the treasure will only serve to get these feelings back under control." She said this part for the benefit of the thieves behind her, who were sneaking backstage in hopes of finding whatever item might be in there.

"And there was more we were wrong about. We forgot that our actions have consequences. We were wrong to think that the people who cared about us, who loved us, would be happy to have us gone."

The shadow of the girl mulled over her words. For a moment, a bright smile crawled onto her face. "I can tell that the job is done. You truly are aware now, aren't you? The club president will be pleased," Shadow Sayori trailed off, already starting to fade. Skull's mouth fell open in shock.

"What's that supposed to mean? You're the club president!" He was looking for confirmation that could not be given. The rest of the thieves emerged from backstage, carrying the only thing they had managed to find, a black notebook. The Shadow looked at it in confusion for a second, before a brief look of realization crossed over her.

"What a sneaky leader. I suppose it's time for my farewell, too. I hope you use your new knowledge wisely… I hope we do," With a final chuckle, she faded away.

Sayori looked at the spot where she had disappeared, her mind barely processing the subtle hints that she was still missing something. A rumble over everyone's heads alerted them to the immediate danger.

"We need to get going before this place starts collapsing!" Mona exclaimed. All of the other thieves nodded in agreement before they began to hurry after the cat creature. Sayori was about to follow when one more memory slammed into the front of her mind.

 _Oh, no! I forgot about…_

"You guys go on ahead. There's one more thing I need to do. Anyway, see you all in school on Monday, bye!" Sayori spoke the last sentence before sprinting away from them, and out the door.

The thieves stood for a moment in shock. Ann looked like she wanted to follow after her, only for Ryuji to pull her along in the opposite direction. "Shouldn't we—"

"This is her palace, right? We should listen for now," Ryuji interrupted. Ann nodded hesitantly before they ran to catch up with the group.

* * *

"Goro! Goro! Where are you?" Sayori was in the back of the auditorium building. Guilt was eating her insides as she ran through the crumbling building. The thought that she might be too late making her scream louder as the seconds passed. Finally after what felt like a lifetime to the girl, she spotted a lone figure at the end of the hallway.

"Goro! There you are!" Sayori quickly ran up to him and grabbed his arm. "We need to get out of here!" She didn't falter even as she internally questioned the red mask and costume he was now wearing. Right now she could only think about the danger they were now in.

"Sayori, what's going o–ugh!" The detective was suddenly slung over Sayori's shoulder as she dodged the question.

"No time! We need to keep running," Sayori didn't show any signs of slowing down as she saw the auditorium exit. She forced herself to speed up even though her legs felt like they on fire.

"That's kind of hard to do when you're carrying me like a sack," Goro grumbled. He heard the doors slam open as Sayori made a mad dash for the front gate. That was when the detective noticed the crumbling ground beneath them.

"We're almost there…" Sayori trailed off as she reached the few feet left to the door. Slamming it wide open, she leapt through, throwing her room mate ahead of her using her remaining strength. She closed her eyes as her face approached the ground.

* * *

Sayori barely felt something break her fall as the apartment came into her view. She looked at the wide open doorway of the apartment where the groceries still sat. Even as she looked at it, she couldn't help but let out a sad sigh. _Is this world… fake?_ She let her head drop down to whatever had broken her fall and let out a small whimper. _No..._

It was only when Sayori felt two arms wrap around her that it occurred to her that she didn't know exactly what had broken her fall. Lifting her head slightly, a blush spread across her face as she confirmed her suspicions. She was laying on top of Goro Akechi. He had her arms wrapped around her with a light grin on his face. The ten second long unbreakable eye contact they held was only broken when Sayori numbly put her head back on his chest.

"Sayori… Are you alright?" The detective began trying to set them both upright, still keeping one arm wrapped around her as he did so.

"What just happened?" She whispered. Goro tightened his grip as he lead them both to the couch.

* * *

"I'm not quite sure myself…" As always, the lies easily came out of his mouth. He looked down at the girl in front of him. It honestly felt like he was seeing her for the first time. Her increasingly red face now had new meaning other than embarrassment.

"Still… I'm glad you're safe. That place seemed dangerous. If something had happened in there…" He trailed off as Sayori started to tremble. Afraid he had said the wrong thing, he gently pulled her off of him to look at her more closely. What he saw shocked him.

Even as tears were rolling down Sayori's face, a bright smile lit up her face. "I'm… I… I'm so happy you're safe too, and I'm happy that I'm safe, but I'm confused too. That place… whatever it was… revealed things I never wanted to know. Yet I feel so much better about everything now," Sayori's bright smile seemed to lift a large weight off of Goro's shoulders. He resumed their embrace for another few moments, his own thoughts were whirling around in his head at top speed.

Sayori calmed herself down, and mumbled something incoherent into Goro's jacket. "What did you say, Sayori?"

"I said that we should probably go get the groceries," she separated from him to point out the pile that was long abandoned outside the front.

Slightly disappointed, the detective released her. "I suppose you're right. I was thinking… maybe after we finish we could watch a movie? It is a weekend after all…" Goro Akechi felt his own face heat up as he ran out of things to say. There were a number of reasons why he wanted to watch this movie, but the most prominent was to gauge her reactions. Now hyper aware of her emotions, the detective knew he needed a source to draw from. He didn't ever want to neglect this girl again.

"Oh, that sounds nice. Also, I just remembered something I wanted to ask you. What were you doing on your phone, before that weird vortex thing that made my head hurt showed up?" Goro Akechi froze as he made his way over to the groceries.

 _Crap, she knows!_ Resuming his pace, he struggled to pick up the groceries. "We- well, I was reading something aloud that suddenly popped up on my phone. It was really strange. Hey, Sayori, I was wondering something too. Who did you run into in that place? I could have sworn I saw a couple of people who matched the descriptions of the friends that you told me about."

Sayori shuffled her feet nervously as she picked up a few bags. "I ran into a lot of things. They were all so scary. When one of them attacked me I got that costume you saw me in earlier. I assume that's how you got yours?" It wasn't a total lie she was telling, more like an unspecified truth. The detective frowned in response to them.

"I suppose we can save this conversation until tomorrow. We will both be a lot more clear headed too. Perhaps the place we went to will lead to the progress we need to move forward in your case," Goro was reminded of the item he had taken from the palace as he said this. He would see in better detail what it was when he was alone.

* * *

Sayori fidgeted as the movie they were watching continued. Goro knew from experience that this simply meant she was bored. He was glad he could tell at least that much. His own mind was on everything else but the movie. New plans were forming in his head as he watched Sayori out of the corner of his eye.

It wasn't nearly as devious or risky as his other plans, but they were also something he would have far more control over. He had to admit that they excited him just as much too. As soon as he got his next paycheck, he would set it in motion.

Sayori, meanwhile, was lost in her own little world. Struggling to at least get comfortable as the movie in front of her blared aimlessly was almost impossible. Her own mind was going a million miles a minute as she tried desperately to grasp the things she had learned today. Shock had kept her from processing it earlier, but now she had nothing to do but think.

Her own reality was nothing but an illusion. And in that illusion, people she considered friends were the Phantom Thieves. The only other person she harbored deep feelings for was out to capture them. How could she possibly handle all of this? What was even going to happen now that she knew about this?

These and a million other questions ran through her head. Still, one constant hope was that she could use her newfound knowledge to take a more active role in where her own story was going to go. It was really the only thing she had to hold onto. The thoughts and memories of what happened, and what could have happened, when she had so little control made her determined to change things now.

As the credits began to roll, the two roommates were both incredibly tired. Sayori's head plopped limply on her pillow. Goro's eyes had started to drift shut as soon as the climax was over, finally closing fully as the white script came up. His head leaned back on the couch cushion.

For both of the teens, the morning would come far too quickly.

 **Well, I hope you all liked the chapter. Being thrown back into school will probably be the cause of a possible new update schedule, in order to maintain the level of quality we attempt to give you all. Also, for Sayori's thief outfit, I actually have a nice visual reference you can look up. Her design in based off of Ludis Mergas from Noblesse. Anyway, please read, review, and we will see you all next time.**


	19. Chapter 18

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

For once, Sayori was incredibly glad to be back at school. After her adventure in her palace, she wished for nothing more than a return to normality. She got a few strange and suspicious looks from the likes of Akira Kurusu and Ryuji Sakamoto. Instead of carefully walking from class to class, she found herself confidently strutting instead. The strangest occurrence of all happened when she went to work as a librarian's aid that day.

"Hey, Mai!" smiled Sayori.

"Hey there. You're looking better." Mai said, with an actual hint of honest happiness in her voice. Sayori took notice of the fact that she wasn't wearing her white bow.

"I'm glad you think so. I really… figured things out." Sayori said, contemplatively.

"Good. I was starting to get real concerned. Glad you sorted it all out." Mai said, with a smile across her face. "C'mon, let's get to work."

 _Mai-san wants to work? Am I in an alternate dimension again?_

"Uhm, alright. Let's get these check-ins sorted, then. Want to get some tea after?" Sayori asked.

"Nah, nah. We got stuff to do. This place needs a good cleaning-up, too. People really need to stop leaving their books around everywhere." Mai grumbled.

 _Cleaning too? Goodness._

Sayori looked at Mai, slightly shocked. Mai looked over and chuckled. "What's up, Sayori? Afraid of a little cleaning?"

Sayori suddenly unfroze. "Uh, uhm, n-no. It's just you're… acting quite differently today. I kind of like it."

Mai put her hand to her chin, thinking. She looked at Sayori once again. "Hah. Guess I got a bit of whatever you've been having."

"What do you mean?" asked Sayori, puzzled.

"You figured stuff out, so did I. Must've been something we ate." Mai laughed, heartily. Sayori smiled, then began to laugh as well. The two sorted the check-ins through a chorus of girlish giggling.

* * *

 _Who are the Phantom Thieves?_

That question burned in Sayori's mind throughout her entire school day. She almost didn't want to find out, considering she was living with a detective. Her finding out would run the risk of him finding out, and then… But the allure of discovering the truth was too strong for her to bear. She had a good idea as to what was the answer, but getting a confirmation wouldn't be easy. So, she decided to force one.

Ann Takamaki. Sayori was sure that she was the girl in the red suit. No other girl has hair and eyes like her. Plus, she didn't even bother to mask her voice. There was no doubt about it, "Panther" was Takamaki-san. If that were the case, then it was pretty clear who the rest of the thieves would be. Sayori decided to tail her once she left school. There was a chance that she would find the other thieves that way.

As it turns out, detective work of this sort is rather boring. Takamaki-san didn't get up to much once school ended, instead opting to browse the underground mall for what felt like hours to Sayori. But then, Ann got a notification on her phone. Sayori watched as Ann read the text with a smile on her face. Something was up.

Ann stepped off of the subway, Sayori not too far behind. She had had quite a bit of trouble hiding from Ann in the cramped subway train. Somehow, her red hair had not given her away. Regardless, she followed Ann to her destination. Standing there were a few familiar faces. Akira Kurusu, his cat, Ryuji Sakamoto, and Yusuke Kitagawa. Part of her wasn't shocked that they were involved, but another part of her didn't want to believe it.

 _My friends… they've been inside my heart? Now they know all of those things about me…_

The group started to discuss something. Sayori, trying to catch a few words of their conversation, stepped closer.

"Sayori… Palace… Shadow…"

This confirmed it. She had found her Phantom Thieves. However, as she carelessly leaned in further, she also found herself attracting the attention of said Phantom Thieves.

"Uh, Matsu-chan? What's up?" asked Ryuji. He clearly became nervous upon seeing her.

"I knew it! I knew something wasn't right. My intuition never fails." Ann said with questionable confidence.

"Sayori? Whatever is the matter?" added Yusuke, concerned. Akira merely looked at her with a smug look on his face.

Sayori decided to go direct. If she was wrong, then nothing would happen regardless. No sane person knows what palace or a Persona is. If she was right, then she'd finally have her answer.

"Why were you in my palace? Why were you trying to change my heart?" she said with resolve.

The thieves froze upon hearing the question. _I've got 'em,_ thought Sayori. Ryuji, ever the quick to act, looked toward Akira and whispered, "Dude, what do we do?"

Akira looked towards him with a smile. "We tell her the truth. After all…" He looked towards Sayori once more. "After her performance yesterday, I think she deserves to know. Welcome to the hideout, Matsu." he said, stretching his arms out as if to display the corner of the room as something spectacular.

Sayori listened to his command and moved closer. She was now part of the group.

"Well, I already explained to you the basics of what a palace is. Plus, you have your own Persona already, so that doesn't need an explanation. I suppose the only thing left to explain is _why_ we were in your Palace." Akira said. "You know about the Phan-Site?" he asked Sayori.

"I've heard about it. I haven't really checked it out myself, though."

"Well, that's where we find targets for our heists. We weren't quite expecting an entire palace to show up, though. Normally, the shadows of everyday people show up in a place called Mementos. You're a special case, it seems. Your distortion was so strong that it created a palace. Here, I'll show you the request that tipped us off." Akira pulled out his phone, tapped a few times, and showed it to Sayori. There she saw a message divulging many aspects of her life that she had only told a select few people. Possibilities raced in her mind as to who could've possibly posted this. However, she decided to forget about it for now. The good that it had brought her outweighed the slight anger she felt towards the poster. As she was still thinking, Akira placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Sayori… what is your idea of justice?" he asked, with a tone of true seriousness in his voice.

Sayori was startled by the question. She had never really thought very hard about justice, despite living with a detective. After a moment of thinking, she attempted an answer.

"Well… I suppose it would be that the strong have the given job to protect the weak. Those who have power need to protect those who are less fortunate. That would be my idea of justice."

Akira smiled upon hearing her answer. "And what lengths would you go to in order to uphold your justice?"

Sayori thought about this as well. She knew in her heart what the answer was. "Whatever lengths possible. If it means helping others, I'll do anything."

He took his hand off of her shoulder, beaming from end to end. Standing tall and firm, he looked towards his fellow thieves, then back towards Sayori. With a strong voice, he asked, "Well then, Matsu-chan… want to be a Phantom Thief?"

* * *

Goro could not sleep. He was incredibly tired, but his mind was preoccupied with endless speculation as to what he had come across in Sayori's palace.

 _Someone is out there, and they've been watching Sayori this whole time. They know about palaces too, and can apparently manipulate them from what I saw… What is going on?_

He had made an interesting observation while he was in Sayori's palace, but he wasn't able to give it any thought during all of the action. This entity had given him two notebooks, but he was only to keep one. The other was to be placed backstage. When he went backstage to place down the notebook, he found nothing but an old, wooden stool, almost like a pedestal waiting for something to be placed on it. Something like… a palace's treasure.

 _Is this notebook… Sayori's treasure? Was the other notebook a fake?_

It certainly seemed like something she would be attached to. He had given the inside a few looks already, and sure enough there was a litany of poems, adorable scribbles and various other notes inside. It was in her handwriting, too. Goro finally decided to wake up and do some investigating.

Page upon page upon page of nothing. Just poems, poems and more poems. He knew Sayori enjoyed poems, but he had no idea as to the extent of her enjoyment.

 _She's an excellent writer, too…_

The scribbles in the margins provided even more insight into her mind. Flowers and balloons were present on some, while on others sat thunderclouds and sad faces. Goro began to feel somewhat uncomfortable, as if he was peeking at Sayori during a private moment. Still, for the purposes of detective work, he needed to press on.

What he ended up finding surprised him immensely. Tucked within an organization flap attached to the inside-back cover of the notebook was a plain, white flash drive. There was something written on the label, but most of it was wiped away and illegible. All Goro could read was the first letter, "D", along with a period. Puzzled, Goro plugged the flash drive into his PC. All that came up was an error message. "J:\ is not accessible. The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable." He unplugged it and tried a different port. Same error. He was starting to get very very frustrated when, after one final try, a File Explorer pop-up suddenly appeared. Inside the flash drive was one folder, named a strange combination of letters and numbers, MS0xLTEucGM=. There was nothing inside. Goro, despite his abilities as a detective, was not very technologically savvy. He decided that he would ask someone at the police office to help him in the morning.

* * *

Akira invited Sayori to his home, Cafe LeBlanc. He had something quite interesting to show her. Sojiro had already gone back home, so they would be alone for the time being. She had seemed nervous at first, the idea of going to a criminal's home behind her own roommate's back made her scared for her friends' safety. So, she had insisted on standing beside the bed with Morgana in between the two as a precaution. Though she had her arms crossed, she had a look on her face of honest curiosity.

"Welcome to the hideout. The others will be here shortly," said Akira. "So, Sayori, wanna see what we stole?" he asked, smiling.

"From my palace? What do you mean?" asked Sayori, confused.

He chuckled as he reached over towards the shelf next to his bed and grabbed a black notebook. A percent sign was on the cover.

"Remember when I told you that all palaces have treasures? Yours is the same. This is what we found backstage. Normally, we'd have to give you a calling card so that you'd know we were going to steal your heart, but I guess since you were already there, we didn't have to." Akira explained, clearly enthusiastic about his occupation. Sayori smiled, not fully grasping the entire situation.

"Funny thing is, there isn't too much written in here. I would've expected it to be filled to the brim. Here, take a look." He handed the book to Sayori. She flipped through the pages, reading the various scattered poems. The contents were incredibly confusing. The handwriting was not her own, and neither were any of the poems. She didn't know what to think. Yet, she couldn't deny the quality of what she was reading. Whoever, or whatever had written this book was clearly skilled.

 _Is this my mind's idea of what poems should be like? I'm so… confused._

One poem in particular stood out to her.

 _To decide that which is real,_

 _And that which is not,_

 _Is a distinction I must_

 _Make, but simply cannot._

 _But despite this, I find_

 _With all that I'm put through,_

 _I know that one thing is real,_

 _And that thing is you._

She looked up from the notebook as LeBlanc's bell rang downstairs. The team had finally arrived.

 **It is good to be back. We missed you all. Next week will be my very, very late birthday chapter. I hope you all enjoyed this one. Please read, review, and I'll see you all later!**


	20. Chapter 19

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

Ann, Ryuji, and Yusuke flooded into the room. Ryuji carried multiple plastic bags in his arms, a huge grin on his face. Sayori had never been told what exactly her welcome party was supposed to be. She had a sneaking suspicion that nobody else knew either, but politely kept her mouth shut.

"I hope you like board games, Sayori. Ryuji bought one of every game they had, I think. It's your pick on which ones we play," Ann said as she set down her own small bag. "I brought the snacks. I hope tea and cookies are okay."

Sayori helped Ryuji set all of the bags down, taking her chance to view his supply. "That sounds lovely, you guys," she said absentmindedly as she rifled through the bags, before stopping on one in particular. "Oh, Candy Land! Let's play that!"

 _Somehow I'm not surprised that that's what she chose,_ Yusuke thought, smiling. "I hope you kept the receipt, Ryuji. I get the feeling that's all we'll be playing." The artist went to help Ann prepare the tea. Morgana followed without a word, obviously wanting to keep an eye on the two.

"Hey, Sayori… Are you sure you wanna play this?" Ryuji asked. He was looking at the instructions with a raised eyebrow. "It doesn't look tough at all."

"Of course I do! Besides, I'm not gonna be here too long, so we don't need a complex game. It will give us plenty of time to discuss things, too," Sayori said cheerfully. "Why would you buy it if you didn't plan on using it, anyway?"

"It says ages three and up on the box. It seemed like your type of game," Ryuji replied with a smile.

"Hey! Meanie…" Sayori pouted, yet still smiled in spite of herself. It was then that Ann and Yusuke entered carrying a pot of the bubbling tea, along with a neat tray of cookies. Akira quietly got up to help them. Morgana walked up to investigate the game, before looking up with a scowl.

"Hey! It says there are only four player pieces! How are we all supposed to play?" Now it was Morgana's turn to pout.

Sayori laughed, before checking the contents of the box. "There should be some extra pieces, I think. Let's see…"

* * *

After they all finally got settled into the game, something became fairly obvious. Everyone but Sayori was incompetent at it. Twice Ryuji got stuck in some licorice and nearly threw the board out the window. And then there was the time Morgana "accidentally" walked across the board and scattered all of the pieces. The only one who seemed to be able to keep up with her at all was Akira, who still had to go back to the beginning too many times to count. Still, they all agreed that this game was good for one thing, and that was the chance to get answers.

"So, Sayori…" Ann trailed off. None of them really knew where to begin with something that was surely an uncomfortable subject for her. Luckily for them, Sayori had questions of her own.

"How exactly do you guys think this will work? I mean, I live with the detective that's investigating you all… all of us," Sayori blushed at her error and drew another card.

"I suppose you could tell him you've joined a new club," Yusuke pondered, moving his piece right beside her's. "Or perhaps you could say that you are meeting some friends to help with homework. Though it most certainly cannot be any of us that you mention." The others all nodded in agreement, but Sayori looked horrified.

"I have to lie to him…" The cruel reality of what she had signed up for finally dawned on her. She looked sadly at her teacup, her appetite was gone.

"Wait… Why would you say yes to joining the team then? You've never seemed like someone who would be uncomfortable with lying, Sayori," Ann asked in concern.

"I know. I used to be fine with it, but... After that awakening, things are different for me in more ways than one," Sayori explained quietly. "I guess it's just that… I can't bring myself to lie to someone who took me in. I'm not going to force him to live in a lie."

"It's fine if you decide you don't want to be a part of the team, Sayori," Akira reassured.

"No… I have my own reasons for joining. You guys are my friends, and so is Goro. The only problem with that is that you're against each other. I need to keep you out of each other's way. So... I'm going to tell you guys everything I find out about his progress in the case. If I find anything, of course," Sayori's phone vibrated in her pocket. "I have to go now. He's probably worried about where I am at this point. I'll try your club idea, Yusuke. Thank you all for the wonderful evening."

Just as Sayori began walking towards the exit, Morgana stopped her. "Wait, that only sounded like one reason to join… What are the others?"

Sayori offered him a small smile, "That's for me to know, and you to not worry about."

* * *

For the hundredth time that day, Sayori pushed the swarming thoughts to the back of her mind. _Why is it so hard just to walk down the street without thinking about how fake it all is?_ She didn't want to think about what it all meant. She didn't care. In the moment, it didn't matter at all. But she couldn't stop picking at it. It was a scab she refused to stop touching.

A few yards away, Sayori saw the entrance to the apartment. _Finally._ She practically ran up the stairs, her exhaustion weighing her down like an anvil. She slipped through the door and flopped onto the couch. "I think I'm dead," she said as she closed her eyes in an attempt to rest.

She didn't notice Goro sitting only a foot away, smiling playfully, "Funny… You don't seem dead to me," he said cheerfully, playfully checking her pulse. Sayori's eyes shot open in alarm as her face practically turned red in embarrassment. The detective quickly removed his hand, giving her a small smile. "So, did you enjoy spending time with your friends?"

Sayori nodded her head, having temporarily lost her ability to speak. _What is he doing?_ She took one look at the detective, whose smile seemed to convey pure innocence, and realized what was happening. Quickly relaxing, her red face faded to its natural color. _Oh. He's just playing along with my joke. I get it now._ She stood up and went towards the bathroom, intent on getting ready for bed.

Meanwhile, Goro couldn't help but frown. Her reaction was the exact opposite from the one he wanted. He had been hoping for a nudge, a complaint, any sort of sign to indicate she understood. Sitting down, he released a long sigh. _Girls, huh… Am I just bad at flirting? At least I have a good control for the next try._ Thinking back to her blush, he couldn't help but blush himself.

"Sayori?" he called, ready to execute his idea.

"What?" Sayori called from her spot in the bathroom, preoccupied with trying to wrestle a brush out of her hair.

"Do you have anything important at school tomorrow?" He knew he would find any excuse even if she did, but it was the thought that counts… right?

"I don't think so. Why do you ask?"

"I think after what happened this weekend, we could afford a small break. I was wondering if you would like to walk around town with me tomorrow, maybe do a little bit of shopping?"

"Sure, I'd love to," Sayori walked out of the bathroom, dressed in a pink nightgown. Her face didn't betray any hints that she thought that this was more than a small outing between friends. The detective found himself frustrated with how the tables had turned.

Getting up from his place on the couch, Goro gave her one last smile and disappeared into his room. "I'll wake you up to get ready then. Good night, Sayori."

"Good night, Goro," Sayori yawned in reply.

* * *

Stepping onto the street the next morning, neither could say they really knew what they were doing. Sayori pulled on the sleeve of her pink sweater, wondering what demon had possessed her to dress in a way that clearly matched her roommate's own choice of casual wear. She had told herself that the black pencil skirt and matching dress shoes would make her look more mature, so people wouldn't give a second look towards a teenager who was definitely skipping school. But the second she stepped outside the door, she knew that was far from the case.

"I thought it was unnecessary when I first bought it, but you look much better with that headband keeping your hair out of your face," Goro said fondly.

Sayori felt almost naked without her protective curtain, now being held back by the silver band. Nevertheless, she quietly nodded her thanks. "Where are we going first? We already have plenty of food…" Sayori began to quietly ponder.

"That's a surprise," The detective began walking steadily forward. He knew exactly where he wanted to take her first.

* * *

"Oh… Wow…" Sayori was speechless as she stared at the building in front of her. "It's so… Wow…"

 _Oh no. I didn't break her, did I?_ Goro began waving his hand in front of the girl's face, waiting for her to regain her senses. When she finally came to, he laughed, "Sayori, if I knew bringing you to a bookstore would cause you to shut down, I would have chosen another place to go entirely."

"This isn't just any bookstore, Goro. You said it was your _favorite_ bookstore. I think my reaction was pretty reasonable," she smiled, playfully nudging his arm. Her pencil skirt hindered her from skipping in like she felt like doing, but she didn't mind. On the other side of these doors was something she needed… something familiar.

"How many books can I get?" Sayori asked as she began wandering through the shelves.

"We'll have to see what you choose first," the detective replied, looking around for any titles that he thought the two would like. It shouldn't have surprised him to look up, only to find her heading towards the children's section.

"I still can't believe they consider this a children's series," Sayori grumbled as she finally found something that sparked her attention. Kneeling down, she started stacking a large pile of nine books, clearly a long runner. "We're definitely getting these. I think you'd like them too, Goro," Sayori showed him the first book, which depicted two young girls running away from a giant hand.

"'The Fairytale Detectives,' huh... I dunno, Sayori," the detective put a hand to his chin in contemplation. "You'll have to do more to convince me. Just cause they're detectives doesn't mean I'll like the books."

"I can't tell you anymore. It's a surprise!" Sayori couldn't help but pout a little.

Goro saw her pouting face and immediately felt some sort of primal instinct kick in. "Fine. I'll get them for you, on one condition," Goro paused for a moment, taking a small pleasure in how the dramatic effect made the girl stare at him with wide blue eyes. "We have to read them together." Sayori eagerly nodded.

That is, until the detective grabbed her wrist and pulled her onto one of the many reading couches in the store.

"Wait, you mean right now?" _How did Yuri do this stuff without getting a heart attack?_ Sayori went red yet again as her roommate flipped through to the prologue. Unbeknownst to her, Goro Akechi wasn't just smiling at the contents of the book.

* * *

The rest of the day yielded similar results. The two would go from one place to the next, stop to buy a few things, and then continue on their way. When Goro saw chances, he would often take them. Never going out of the designated comfort zone, he always made sure that Sayori remained aloof. It was quite easy when she thought of him as the exact same.

Eventually, when more teenage girls began to flood the streets, he realized it might not be such a good idea to remain out in public for much longer. However, they still had dinner to get through. The two could only count their lucky stars that they got a corner booth. However, Goro remained conflicted. He didn't know if he could reveal the biggest reason he took her out on this "not quite a date" date.

 _No, there might be more time for that later. After everything is sorted out._

Sayori was sipping her water without much of a care in the world. Still, if there was anything the detective had learned after the day's activities, it was that Sayori was as good at acting as he was. Aside from the blood rushing to her face every once in awhile, it was impossible to get any sort of tell out of her. Glancing at her, he cleared his throat. When she looked up, he made sure to give her a reassuring smile.

"I think it's finally time I break some bad news to you, Sayori. I'm going to have to put your case on the back burner for a bit. I'm sorry," It was hard to accomplish, but he managed to hold her gaze instead of looking away.

"Oh… I see." Sayori somberly responded. She had gotten accustomed to staying with Goro after so many months, but the idea of returning home was always stinging in the back of her mind. "I suppose it's understandable. There's a lot of things going on, and I can fend for myself for now. My time will come." Sayori had a good idea of what he was going to bring up next, but hoped she was wrong. She didn't think she was quite prepared to handle it.

"Thank you for understanding, Sayori. As soon as I settle the Phantom Thief case, I'll get right back to yours. Hopefully by then there will be more leads to follow," Thinking back to the flash drive in his room, he nearly missed the way Sayori seemed to stiffen. "By the way, what happened a couple days ago? You didn't happen to run into anybody else in that strange place, did you?"

"N-No. Just a bunch of weird scary creatures. A lot of them looked like my old friends back home. Then I got that weird outfit you saw me in," The lie felt like she was swallowing sand, so she went back to chugging her drink. She couldn't bring herself to look, so she didn't notice the sorrowful on her roommate's face.

 _No… No! Damn it! Don't force me to make this choice!_ Despite everything that had happened, Akechi couldn't help but feel betrayed. _She's working with them, isn't she?! But I… Sayori..._ He managed to slip his smile back on. "Alright. I had wondered if that place was connected to the Phantom Thieves, but perhaps it wasn't. Then again, maybe they just knew to avoid you for some reason or another."

"Y-yeah…" Sayori put her cup down, trying to relax. "By the way, when I saw my friends yesterday, they found a fun club they'd like me to join at the school. The schedule is a bit up in the air. So…"

"Say no more. Is there anything I need to sign? Will you need some help getting there?" _Sayori… Come on._ He watched Sayori shake her head, a blank expression on her face.

Sayori finally pulled out of her chair. The air around her was somehow suffocating her. The poor girl could practically see the small crack in their relationship she was forming. If she didn't learn how to cope with the circumstances she had signed onto, she knew it would turn into a chasm. "I think I'm full. Is this our last stop today?"

"Yeah, we should get going before it gets too dark," Akechi slid out of his seat. After paying the bill, they began the long walk to the subway station. The detective held mixed feelings for the new layer to his plan. _If only I had noticed she had followed me in. We could've stayed together, and I wouldn't have to use her like this..._

The girl in front of him was his best way, and yet also his worst way, to catch the Phantom Thieves. After all was said and done, and he finally achieved his ultimate goal, she probably wouldn't even want to speak to him anymore. Yet, that thought somehow only steeled his determination to steal her heart. To at least get a taste of what this kind of relationship was like before everything went to Hell.

 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. "The** **Fairytale** **Detectives" is the first book in a series called The Sisters Grimm, written by Micheal Buckley. I highly recommend reading it. The original, not the rewrite, of course. Anyway, please read, review, and I'll see you all next time!**


	21. Chapter 20

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

"So, ready for your training?" Akira asked. Sayori nodded in response. As she faced down her enemy, a purple, winged humanoid wearing a mask, she felt an incredible determination to defeat it. She needed to prove herself to her new team. Clutching the victory at the palace was a start, but showing that she could handle herself in a real combat situation would make all the difference. She raised her shield and awaited orders.

"You're gonna wanna try and find what that thing's weak to. You'll know if you've hit a weakness when it falls to the ground. Got it memorized?" Akira asked Sayori, who nodded once more. "Good. Psyche's got Physical and Bless attacks, right? Give those a shot." Akira commanded, as Sayori charged forth and slashed the monster with her sword. The creature recoiled in pain, but it didn't fall.

"Brace yourself! It's gonna attack!" Akira shouted as the beast lunged forward. Sayori raised her shield in defense, absorbing some of the blow. She could only hope that her bless attack would be the decisive move.

"Alright, Valiant, let 'er rip!" Akira cried, giving Sayori a boost of confidence.

As she shouted "Psyche!" her Persona appeared and a ray of light came down upon the fiend. It soon fell to the ground.

"Yeah! That's what I'm talkin' about! Way to go, Matsu-chan!" shouted Ryuji, happily.

"Let's not lose our heads, guys. Why don't we commemorate this moment with an All-Out Attack!" exclaimed Akira. The team smiled and nodded in response, before leaping into the air and unleashing a flurry of attacks upon the shadow. Sayori could not believe her eyes. _How do they do that…_

The monster was quickly defeated, and the team returned to Sayori. "Don't worry, Valiant. We'll teach you how to do that one of these days." said Akira, who knew exactly what she was thinking just from the look on her face. "Let's get a move on, team!"

"Uh, uhm… okay!" said Sayori, excited. She was honestly surprised at her excitement. She was never much of a warrior before, but she had felt the urge to protect her friends in battle arise within her ever since the battle against her Shadow. Furthermore, she had a reason to fight too. Helping the thieves do good in the world was enough motivation to fight.

* * *

"So, how exactly does Morgana transform into a bus?" Sayori asked quizzically.

"Well, y'know how Mementos is influenced by popular cognitions? Cat-buses are a popular cognition, so that's what allows me to transform! Simple, huh?" Morgana responded, clearly proud of his ability. Sayori grumbled something that sounded like bemused understanding as she looked out the window of the Monabus. The dark interior of the seemingly endless dungeon lead her mind on a journey of deep thought.

 _These monsters are created from the minds of everyone else. So, if I'm not real, then… Where did I come from?_

The thought sent a chill down her spine. Was she a shadow, just like these monsters? If so, why did she end up above ground?

 _On top of that, where did my neighborhood come from? My school? Yuri, Natsuki, Monika? Are they the same as me? Oh no…_

She decided to speak up.

"Uhm… I know this is a strange question, but… have you guys ever seen an entire neighborhood in Mementos?"

Ann was the first to respond. "Well, we did see a giant art gallery one time. It looked like there were some buildings in the distance. So, I guess we have seen a neighborhood." She said, smiling. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, just curious," Sayori answered, obviously hiding her true feelings. The rest of the thieves took no notice.

 _So it is possible. I… I don't know what to think anymore…_

She decided to drop the subject for the time being. There were enough things to worry about already.

* * *

As she returned to Goro's apartment, Sayori felt incredibly sore. She looked and felt like a trainwreck after all of her battling. Her hair was disheveled, and she had a rather noticeable bruise on her leg where a Shiki-Ouji had struck her during a difficult battle. The monster was immune to both of her methods of attack, so she was forced to stay on the defensive as the rest of the thieves handled it for her. She wished she could have helped more, but nothing could be done.

While heading up the stairs to the apartment, a tinge of dread crept into her slowly. She soon realized that she most certainly looked like she had been in a fight, and that Goro would be incredibly worried.

 _He's not going to leave me alone about this, huh… Better come up with an excuse. Hmm… I've got it!_

Goro was sitting on the couch, reading a book. As he looked up at Sayori, terror came across his face. "What happened to you?!"

 _I don't got it!_

"Uh… Uhm… I got a new after school job! Gardening! I tripped over some gardenias and scraped my knee!" She was clearly flustered.

"Don't you already have a club?" Goro asked, puzzled.

"This is my new one! Don't judge me too hard!" Sayori crossed her arms in defense.

"Okay, but that doesn't explain the scratches on your face," Goro stepped forward, investigating further.

"Wait, wait, wait! I also fell into some aloe vera on the way down! It really hurt." Sayori put on her best pouty face in order to sell her excuse.

Goro knew she was lying, but decided to roll with it anyway. _Just play along. Let's see where this leads._

Now it was his turn to cross his arms, smirking. "Alright. So, Miss Gardener, did you at least have fun after all of the bodily harm?"

Sayori was taken aback by Goro's mildly flirtatious comment. She struggled to get out her words, resulting in only a bunch of confused mumbling.

"Y-yes… I really enjoyed it. It's so much fun chopping up the sh- I mean, weeds. I really like killing the weeds. Working with the others is great too. We're a team, y'know?"

 _Nice one, Sayori. Best excuse ever._ Sayori thought to herself.

"I get you. I remember spending hours upon hours with my friends after school, reading and what-not. It was splendid." Goro responded, clearly nostalgic.

 _He bought it!?_

"Of course, it turned out they were all actually bullies, making fun of me for reading, but I still enjoyed their company to an extent. Something different, I suppose." Goro continued, now much more somber.

 _Oh no… I really wanna hug him now._

Sayori uncrossed her arms. "Oh… Well, speaking of reading, we've got books of our own to read. I promise I won't make fun of you," she replied, finally having gathered herself.

"Good. Wanna get to it, then?" Goro asked.

"Wait. Do you… want a hug?" inquired Sayori, who had now transitioned to her most lovable expression possible.

Now Goro was the one taken aback, but he quickly composed himself. He worked up a smile and said, "Uh… Sure. That sounds great."

The two fell into an affectionate embrace, a moment of calm after a long day.

* * *

It was yet another lazy day at Shujin Academy's library. Despite Mai's newfound work ethic, there still was little work to be found. Mai and Sayori were found at their usual stations, with Sayori deep into a book while Mai looked close to falling asleep.

"I know I say it a lot, but… These folks don't read a lot, do they? Where's all of our work?" Mai asked, mildly frustrated.

Sayori shrugged in response. "No clue. I'm certainly reading, though."

"Yeah… Speaking of which, whatcha readin'?"

"Well, Goro and I recently picked up this series that I read when I was a kid. It's called 'The Fairytale Detectives'."

"Sounds like a real Sayori-tastic book. What's it about?"

"Fairytale Detectives?"

"Aw, shuddup. I mean, what's it really about?"

"Well, it's about these two girls, and they used to be in this awful foster care system in New York. But then they meet their grandma, who they assume is crazy because she believes in fairy tales. Then the grandma gets kidnapped by a gi-" Sayori was cut off by a student walking through the door.

"Ladies. How is the work coming along?"

"Student Council President Makoto!?" Mai and Sayori shouted in unison, both breaking into a sweat. They had a lot of explaining to do.

"Yes…?" Makoto was confused as to their reaction. "I'm the Student Council President. It's my duty to check in on everyone from time to time.

"Well it's just, you never really came up here before, at least on our shift." Sayori explained.

"Actually, I come to the library all the time. It's wonderful to get to read so many books. I don't really know why everyone else stays away, though."

"It's cause they're all out doin' normal teenager stuff…" Mai whispered to Sayori, who promptly elbowed her in the stomach.

"I agree, the library is quite wonderful. So, Student Council President Makoto, what brings you here?" Sayori asked politely.

"Oh, I'm just checking in. I haven't received any negative reports about you two, but I felt I should visit regardless. How's everything going?" Makoto responded, with her standard businesslike demeanour.

"Slowly, slowly. I think we've had maybe five people in here all week. I don't know what it is. Still, we keep the place tidy. I'm sure you couldn't find a speck of dust no matter how hard you looked!" claimed Sayori, clearly attempting to hide the fact that they weren't working. Mai began sweating even harder upon hearing her claim.

Makoto smiled. "I see. Well, keep it up. Shujin's library is an important institution, and students like you who maintain it are to thank for that. I'm heading out. I've got to go meet some students in Shibuya. Lots of work to do. See you around." She turned and went back into the hall.

Mai's entire face was quickly in her palm, wiping the sweat away. "Dodged a bullet there, huh? Nice job saving our ass, Sayori!" Mai said, beaming. "I guess that's what an amazing team like us gets when we work hard!"

"But you didn't work."

"I provided emotional support. Plus, I'm the one who hired you, so I worked by default."

"Uh-huh. Let's get back to _working_ then," Sayori responded, smiling at Mai's pitiable amount of pride. As she began to look back towards her book, a thought entered her head.

"Say, Mai… What kind of work could she be doing with students in Shibuya?"

Mai raised an eyebrow at her comment, but she came up empty. "I dunno. I've been hearing rumors of a drug problem around there but… Who knows. I don't even talk to Student Council President Makoto. God only knows what she's up to when we're not lookin'."

Sayori looked into space for a moment, thinking hard but coming up just as empty as her co-worker. "Hmm. Oh well. Can't be that important, right?"

Unbeknownst to Sayori, the importance of Makoto's work would make itself clear in just a few days.

 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I know I'm very proud of how it turned out. Anyway, please read, review, and I'll see you all next time!**


	22. Chapter 21

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

The following day, Sayori's mind was far from calm. At first, she had been terrified, fearing that the stealing of her treasure had only postponed her misery. However, as the day went on, she began to understand what was happening. She had been turning her face from the truth for far too long. _I guess this is what happens when you avoid the fact that you aren't real._

From the very start of the day, Sayori hadn't been able to think of anything else. No matter how many times she tried to distract herself, reality would come slamming back into her head, and the problem only worsened. By the time Sayori met her friends for lunch, she was beginning to question such things as how living for yourself meant getting torturous headaches from out of nowhere, and being constantly assaulted with questions that she couldn't answer if she tried.

Her unfocused daze did not go unnoticed. Ann was snapping her fingers in Sayori's face two minutes into their lunchtime conversation. They all thought it odd how she hardly acknowledged them ever since she walked into the school that morning. However, now it was just getting ridiculous.

"Sayori… Sayori!" Ann spoke loudly into the girl's ear, snapping her back into focus. Looking at the concerned faces of her friends, she blushed and bowed her head.

"Sorry," she whispered quietly. "I guess I kind of zoned out a little bit."

"That would be the understatement of the year," Morgana said, poking his head out of Akira's backpack.

"Is something on your mind?" Akira asked, making sure nobody noticed his blatant violation of the school's pet rules.

"I'm just… having trouble grasping something. I have no real reason to be concerned or fearful, yet I still am. It makes me question things I don't think any of you would understand," Sayori answered, shuffling her feet nervously.

"Whaddaya mean? Of course you've gotta reason to be spooked," Ryuji replied with a confident smile. Sayori glanced at him for further explanation. "You said it yourself; you're livin' with a detective that's out to get us. I'd be scared shitless if I was in your situation."

"I'm not worried about that, though. Concerned maybe, but Goro hasn't given me a reason to be scared yet," Sayori assured, only to suddenly feel unsure. Whenever she thought of that situation, she found no real reason to have emotions so extreme. Yet at the same time, she couldn't help but remember how frightened she felt anyway. _I'm not responding to these situations like I should, am I? What is this meaningless doing to me!?_

Her thoughts were interrupted when Akira waved his hand in front of her face, "Tell you what. Let's go meet with Yusuke after school and get some practice in. I think you need a break from reality, Valiant," He whispered encouragingly.

Sayori slowly nodded. "I think that may be helpful. I still need to practice anyway."

* * *

For what felt like the hundredth time, Sayori landed hard on her back. The force of the blow had once again been too hard for her to take, and yet she still once again found herself getting back onto her feet. Gripping her shield tightly, she ran forward once again. Raising her shield, she successfully blocked the blow aimed at her face. Panting, she whipped out her sword and slashed at the shadow. It had almost no effect.

"Are you sure you don't want us to step in, Valiant?" She heard Fox yell from the sidelines. The question made her grit her teeth. She didn't know if she was frustrated with something, or if her brain had been battered to the point where she couldn't rationally think, but she desperately wanted to win against the beast she faced.

Briefly, Sayori recalled the beginning of the fight, where she had discovered the major disadvantage against the monster she was facing. It was immune to all of her attacks, but she was vulnerable to all of its. _Why did I reject their offer for help when they first offered it? Perhaps I've finally lost it._ Looking back up, she made up her mind. "I think I've changed my mind. Guys, I need help!"

The rest of the Phantom Thieves nodded and leapt into action. In almost no time at all, the enemy was utterly destroyed. Sayori watched, not able to stop the slight sense of envy from rising in her. However, she managed to push down the conflicting feelings as her comrades walked over to her.

"If you knew he was immune to all of your attacks, you should've asked for us sooner. You feeling alright?" Panther questioned with concern. Sayori avoided her worried gaze and sighed.

"Her disadvantage in the fight wasn't the only thing that was off," Mona commented. "I couldn't help but notice how hesitant she was in the beginning. It was only when she was already seriously beaten that she really started to try." The cat creature looked at Sayori, waiting for an explanation. However, that wasn't something Sayori could give without seeming like an absolute nutcase.

"I did notice myself that Valiant seemed a lot more aggressive yesterday," Fox commented, a look of concern on his face. "Do you have any idea why that might be?" Now all of her comrades were curious.

Sayori looked at the ground sheepishly. The girl couldn't really explain that her mercy was partly a product of her theory that she may be one of these creatures. Still, there was an even bigger concern that the "Noble" Thief held. "I guess I just don't think I'm cut out for battle at the moment," she whispered.

Now they were all really confused. The Phantom Thieves all looked at one another for a possible answer, but came up with nothing.

"I'm afraid none of us really understand, Valiant," Joker replied, hoping to prompt a better answer. "You kicked major ass yesterday. You looked so proud of yourself after you beat up that shadow, but now you almost look guilty."

"I guess it's just that I don't know how I want to contribute. I want to protect people weaker than me, that's why I joined you guys. I don't think I'm much of a fighter." Sayori explained. She hoped that this explanation would be better.

"I think I get it. What you're tryin' to say is that you don't think you can play on the offensive side like us. You think you might be better at being the defense," Skull hypothesized to himself. Sayori beamed, nodding happily.

"Well, you've got that huge shield on your arm, don't you? Plus, remember that spell you casted on me back when we fought your shadow? Maybe, if you figured out how to do that more consistently, then..." Joker was already deep in thought, his gloved hand on his chin.

"Also, I know this might be strange to request, but I still want to make sure I can contribute all I can to this group. If you figure out something else for me to do, I would be grateful," Sayori requested hopefully. Joker nodded as he lost himself in thought, thinking about how to take advantage of Sayori's abilities.

"I guess this means our Metaverse training is over for today," Panther said cheerfully. "Let's get out of here." With those words being said, Mona was quick to change into his bus form. The Phantom Thieves piled in and departed for the day.

* * *

Sayori swiveled around in her chair. From her spot at the library checkout, she had a clear view of the wall clock. Only a bit longer until she was dismissed. Mai was reshelving books on the other side of the room, and had requested that she not be disturbed while she was "in the zone." Earbuds in, the girl was in her own little world as she categorized each book alphabetically.

This left Sayori without much to do but think. Her earlier escapades in Mementos hadn't done much to clear her head. She still had so much to figure out about herself, about her own goals, and about where she wanted to go from here. It could only be considered an act of kindness that Yusuke had helped her pick a thief name for her. It was one less thing to worry about. Sayori yearned for something that would distract her from these troubling thoughts.

Unfortunately, she got one.

Makoto Niijima walked into the library, with a gleam in her eyes that Sayori didn't know how to interpret.

 _Why's the Student Council President coming around here all of a sudden?_

Perhaps it was a confident look of success, but neither librarian could tell you why a person would go to a deserted library to celebrate an achievement. The normally cheerful girl couldn't help but freeze when Makoto turned that gaze towards her. Glancing around the intimidating girl, Sayori noticed that Mai had disappeared from her station by the shelves.

Gulping, Sayori offered Makoto a kind smile. "Oh, what a lovely surprise! I didn't expect to see you here again so soon. Did you come to inspect the library again?"

The serious expression that was now on Makoto's face said otherwise. "Actually, no. I wanted to talk to you about something that concerned me when I heard about it. Do you have a moment?" She was already taking a seat before Sayori could give an answer. Then again, she had a million moments to spare, considering the library was barren of other matters to attend to.

"I've got to get some work done, but sure. What do you want to talk about?" Sayori inquired innocently. The girl briefly remembered the cataloguing system they had. Taking a moment to log on, just in case she actually got a chance to use it, Makoto's first question almost went unheard.

"Is it true that you live with Goro Akechi?" Makoto asked, a now unreadable expression on her face. Sayori froze, wondering exactly where the Student Council President was going with this.

"Um, yes, I do. Why are you asking?" Sayori answered, trying to control her own expressions until she could figure out what Makoto wanted from this conversation.

"My sister mentioned that to me a little while ago, and I wasn't really worried about the detective's behavior towards you if that's what you're thinking," Makoto replied, taking notice of the slight way Sayori relaxed in her chair. "What really concerns me are the friends you hang out with away from your home life. Tell me, Sayori, why is there no record of you in the gardening club?"

Sayori's blood ran cold. _How did she find out about that?!_ Thinking quickly, Sayori was amazed at how easy the lie came out. "That's because I'm an unofficial member. I stop by some afternoons and help kill the weeds. It gets kind of lonely just hanging out with Mai and Goro. That's not exactly the biggest friend group, don't you think?" Wherever Mai was, she wasn't here. Sayori needed to find a way to change the subject until her coworker could rescue her. Mentioning friend groups was a good way to start. After all, Makoto had to have a lot of friends, given her position. Right?

However, Makoto was not distracted by the subtle hint to change the subject. "Really, that's funny. I stopped by the gardening club on my way here, and they said they had no memory of you, at all. It's my job to keep track of these things. So could you tell me who you really spend all of this time with when you're unaccounted for, both at school, and at home?"

Sayori couldn't help but be suspicious at this point. "How did you know about this? I've only mentioned this to my roommate."

Makoto shifted in her seat, uncomfortably. "My sister mentioned this to me last night. It was only an attempt at casual conversation then, but I have found your entire dilemma very interesting." The girl had grown quiet, trying to recompose herself. Sayori couldn't help but wonder what was going on in her head.

Right now, however, was not the time to sympathize. With one glance down at herself, Sayori had an idea to turn this conversation in her favor. Making her own voice quiet and morose, the girl put her plan into motion. "I never got to thank you, by the way," Sayori watched as Makoto gained a curious look. She wasn't taking the bait quite yet, but it was a start.

"Thank me… for what?" Makoto inquired. Sayori smiled politely to hide her grin. She was successful in finding her niche! Now she just had to work with it, turn the conversation around, and keep it that way until Mai returned.

"For lending me your old clothes, of course! I have to admit I like them much more than my uniform from my old school," Sayori said, her sudden enthusiastic tone throwing Makoto off. "You absolutely have to tell me where you got them! I could probably use a few extra, but I also don't want to take advantage of your generosity, either," Sayori continued to prattle, watching as Makoto seemed to grow embarrassed and uncomfortable.

"I-I'm afraid I couldn't tell you where I got my clothes from, even if I wanted to. I'm not the one who bought them," Makoto explained, before succeeding in regaining her composure. Obviously, she wanted to get the subject back on track. Sayori, however, had other ideas.

"Well, the last time you came in here, you mentioned Shibuya. That place has a lot of shops, right? I've been there a couple of times myself. If you weren't shopping for clothes with your excellent taste in fashion, what were you doing there?" Sayori made sure to add in a bit of flattery. Her new tactic was proving effective. Makoto now looked extremely uncomfortable. Now she was the one who wanted a way out.

"I-I was… shopping for books," Makoto replied lamely.

Sayori beamed and looked back at the checkout computer, "Did you find what you were looking for? If not, I could probably be of service." Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Mai finally come back into the room.

"Sorry, Sayori. I had take a piss," Mai stood in the doorway and stretched, not even noticing their mutual visitor. "Woah, Student Council Prez! Hi! Uh, didn't expect to see you here! You here for another inspection?" Mai had broken into a sweat yet again. She took notice of Sayori, who was gesturing to the back room. A clear "save me from social interaction" sign that they had taken the time to make up.

"Actually, I was just leaving," Makoto answered, sensing the tension in the room. "I just have one more question to ask Matsu-chan before I go."

Makoto turned to Sayori with a serious expression. Obviously, now that Mai was here, she could no longer try her interrogation technique. But that didn't mean Sayori wasn't intimidated. "Please answer truthfully, Matsu-chan. What is your opinion on the Phantom Thieves?"

Sayori smiled genuinely, "I don't know yet. I'm going to wait until they've made a few more appearances to form an opinion." Makoto nodded, taking the answer into consideration, but clearly no longer paying attention.

"Alright. I'll be going then. I'll see you two around," The Student Council President left without another word.

"The hell was that all about?" Mai asked. "You look like you've just seen her deck a shark in the face or somethin'."

Sayori wanted to smile at Mai's incredibly odd synonym, but her worry as to the purpose of Makoto's visit overpowered that urge. "I'm honestly not sure, Mai," Sayori responded. She would need to talk to her friends about this later.

 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Also, I have a question for you guys. In a few weeks, I'll be having an important exam that I will need to study for. As such, a chapter will probably not be written. However, I don't want to skip that week. Instead, I was thinking that my partner and I could have a fun Q &A chapter. But before any concrete decisions are made, we want to know what you all think. Any rules and regulations will be laid out in the chapter preceding it if we decide to go with that. Anyway, please read, review, and I'll see you all next time!**


	23. Chapter 22

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

The thought of potentially being a shadow had taken hold in Sayori's mind recently, its talons digging into her skull and not letting go. It was a rather illogical thought, but in her mind, _everything_ had become illogical as of late. However, there was one logical thing she knew. She couldn't face this alone, and that she would need to talk to a few friends. Luckily, there might be one friend who could understand her concerns.

* * *

"So, Mona-chan, what's up?"

Sayori had dropped by Cafe LeBlanc so that she could ask Akira if she could chat with Morgana. After an initial look of confusion, Akira allowed her into his room, where Morgana was doing much of nothing. He sat upright on a chair in next to the television, his posture appearing vaguely humanoid in the process. His tail drooped down the front, occasionally flicking from side to side. Sayori was sitting across from him, awaiting an answer to her question.

"Nothing much. I had some delicious curry earlier, and I watched Akira read a book too. It was pretty nice."

Sayori began to wonder why exactly she had asked a cat what he was up to that day.

"Ah. That's… good. I'm glad."

Morgana began licking his paw, staring as Sayori sat still in her chair. "Is there anything else you need? I'm a very busy man, you know."

"Oh! Sorry about that. I was just thinking about something." Sayori was thinking about nothing at that particular moment. "Um, Mona? Can I ask you a weird question?" SHe looked down nervously, not quite sure how to go about this conversation.

"Sure! Go ahead. Anything for a teammate," Morgana's cheerful reply served as a small reassurance to Sayori. Gathering her wits, she asked the question.

"Do you ever wonder where you _really_ came from? I've been having… doubts, recently."

"No, not really. I already know the answer, after all. Earth, of course! I used to be human, so I must've come from Earth," Morgana sat up taller, a proud smile glued to his feline face.

"Yes, but… What if you didn't _exactly_ come from Earth?" Sayori, aside from the shock at seeing such an expressive cat, was beginning to think she should have brought cue cards for this awkward conversation.

"Well, I don't have any antennae. I'm furry, sure, but that's just temporary. I certainly can't be an alien, if that's the case. Sayori, what exactly are you trying to get at?" Morgana, confused, was trying to get the girl to be more clear.

"It's… just… I don't… I don't know. I don't feel whole. I don't feel like myself anymore. I feel like I'm not the Sayori I know. Sometimes, it feels more like I'm from that Mementos place more than I am from here," Sayori confessed, the words seeming to tumble out all at once. Putting her head in her hands, she took a few deep breaths.

Morgana tensed up ever so slightly upon hearing this. "Well, that doesn't make any sense. If you were a shadow, we'd feel it. Besides, you look pretty human to me. Maybe you should worry less about _what_ you are, and focus more on _who_ you are. Like me! I might be a cat right now, but I know I'm human, so I'm not bothered!"

Sayori looked up and smiled slightly, the expression not reaching her eyes. "Hmm. Maybe you're right. I just wish the idea would get out of my head."

"I can't exactly help you with that. I've already been inside your head, and I don't think I can get in there again anytime soon. Hopefully, at least." Morgana began to ponder as to a solution for Sayori's woes. "Ah! I've got it!"

"Got what?"

"Maybe you should go talk to Lady Ann! Why, seeing her always cheers me up. Maybe she can do the same for you."

Sayori thought about it for a moment before agreeing. A bit of girl talk couldn't hurt anyone. Besides, she needed to touch base with Ann after everything that had happened recently. They had a lot to talk about. Saying her goodbyes, the girl quickly left the cafe.

* * *

"I gotta be honest, I don't think I get it."

Ann was incredibly confused. Sayori was yet again having trouble discussing her emotions.

"I give up, then. Mona didn't understand, you don't either. I don't even know why I bother anymore," Sayori grumbled.

"Well, maybe you could try being a little more direct. All of this 'reality' stuff, it's confusing me." Ann raised her hand to her chin, assuming a thinking gesture.

"I-I don't think I'm real, Ann! It feels like my entire life up to this point has been one big lie! Nothing around me is right anymore. It all feels… fake."

"Uhm… Okay, but why does it all feel fake?"

"I don't know. Think about it this way. Remember that movie we went to see the other day, 'Love Possibly'? I feel like one of the characters in it."

Ann perked up upon hearing this statement. "Oh! So you're in love with someone?"

Sayori went red from frustration. "No! That's not what I meant. I meant that I feel like I'm just a character on a screen. Everything I see feels manufactured. The buildings, the people, everything. It's like I'm being watched by someone from afar, like I'm just their plaything."

"Oh. Um…"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have bothered you with my ramblings. This is ridiculous. I'm going home." Sayori began to walk away before Ann spoke up.

"No. Sayori, listen. I won't lie and say that I can understand what you're going through. I can't even begin to imagine it. But, I couldn't understand what Shiho was going through either. All I could do was stay with her and be supportive. Even at her lowest point, I stuck with her. You're my friend, Sayori. I'll stick with you, too. I hope that, at the very least, our friendship is real."

Sayori didn't have a response. She couldn't think of one.

Ann, ever the optimist, managed to produce a kind smile. "Hey, why don't we go get some crepes? They're my favorite. I'm sure you'll love them!"

Sayori begrudgingly agreed. While she didn't know if it would make her feel any better, she did know that she would rather be eating crepes than arguing in the middle of a crowded mall.

* * *

The next day, Sayori was hanging out with Akira, Ryuji and Ann in the school courtyard. Ryuji and Ann were bickering, as usual. Ryuji had been aggravated about the threats that Akechi had made towards the Thieves at the TV studio, but now he was more preoccupied with Ann's questionable eating habits.

"Hey, you really just gonna keep eatin' and eatin' and eatin' those things all by yourself!? Gimme some!"

"Sorry, just ate the last one," Ann said snidely.

"You shouldn't try to get in the way between a girl and her meal, Ryuji," Sayori piped in.

"See? Sayori understands me," Ann smiled.

Mona poked his head out of Akira's backpack, fed up with the present immaturity of the thieves. "You guys are too laid back. The police are getting involved now, you know."

"So you think it's true…? We'll be OK if we keep doing this… right?" Ann pondered, worriedly.

"We can't let the cops scare us outta bein' phantom thieves," Ryuji grumbled.

"But… what about that weird guy from Madarame's Palace…? Or the fact that Sayori had a palace too? Isn't there a lot we don't know?"

Sayori, who was fiddling with a nearby vending machine, was unable to warn the thieves of a certain young lady arriving at their position. The flash of a phone camera did the job for her.

"You four seem to be having so much fun. I'm a little jealous."

 **I hope you liked the chapter. Please read, review, and I'll see you all next time!**


	24. Chapter 23

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

"Sayori, are you alright?"

Sayori was startled from her daydream. She glanced at Goro, who had a concerned look in his studying gaze. She wondered if he had been trying to get her attention for a while. The guilt from the knowledge that she may have been ignoring him was a brief respite from her constant worry. Now should be the time she spent with her roommate. This would probably start to become the only time of day where she didn't need to be nervous about what her new lifestyle would bring her.

"Yeah… I'm fine. Just lost in thought," Sayori's reply lacked its normal optimism. She realized her mistake when she noticed the detective side of her roommate was showing. However, the girl refused to let Goro's piercing gaze make her squirm. "I… I mean… I'm great! I just have a lot going on right now! You know… with school… and homework… and all of the other normal things girls my age have to go through!" Sayori said with forced excitement. _I probably sound as fake as those people from the TV station._

However, her jaw dropped in shock when Goro once again seemed to not notice her obvious lie. With a short, curt nod, the detective retreated into the kitchen to get their dinner. Sayori risked a small sigh of relief. Even though she tried to tell herself she wasn't lying, just not saying everything that she could say, the guilt still seemed so suffocating. Still, what exactly could she say?

"Sayori… I thought we were closer than this," Goro set the food down. Sayori looked up in panic. What was he trying to say? She did her best to train her expression into a plain sense of confusion. The detective sat down and began eating is own meal. His pained expression made Sayori's breath catch.

"What do you mean? Of course we're close! You're the closest friend I've had since this entire mess started," Sayori replied, trying to cheer him up. The somber look he gave her seemed to freeze her very core.

"How can I believe that when you won't even tell me what is very clearly bothering you? Sayori, I'm not blind… You had the exact look on your face that you had when your old gym teacher…" Unable to continue, the detective buried his face in his hands. Sayori felt sick. How could she have been so naive?

"I'm… sorry, Goro," she whispered, "I guess things have just been so strange for me lately, I never really stopped to consider how my problems could be affecting the people around me." She slumped in her seat. There were things she couldn't tell him, but maybe…

"Hey… I think I know where I made a mistake in all of this. Still, I need to know for sure… Can I ask you a question?" Sayori noticed Goro peek out from behind his hands, giving a short nod. Good, she had gotten his attention.

"Okay… here goes nothing… Do you, by any chance, know what it means to live for yourself?"

Sayori watched as a troubled expression appeared on the detective's face. The girl watched as the detective pondered the question for what seemed like eternity. Finally, he looked up at her. Sayori held her breath as he held her gaze. "I… don't know, Sayori. Why do you ask?"

"Oh," Sayori tried not to sound disappointed. "It's just something I heard back in that weird place. I'm still not quite sure what it means, either. Still, I don't think my original definition works for it now. I thought it had something to do with being independent. If that's even the case… I don't think living for yourself is worth it, if I make the people around me distressed."

"That makes sense," Goro's expression told Sayori that he didn't think that it made sense at all.

"I'm glad you think so. I have one more question, if you don't mind."

"Ask away." Was it just Sayori, or was her roommate being sarcastic?

"My friends invited me to hang out with them in Shibuya… Is there a certain time you would like me to be back?" Sayori held her breath. It was a sneaky question, but she needed to go no matter what.

"Sayori… I'm not your dad. You can stay out as long as you want. Just, stay safe. I've heard some troubling things about that place lately, especially at work," Goro Akechi looked up from his hands to find Sayori giving him a rather pitiful look.

"I'll stay by my friends the entire time… and I'll be back before you even realize I'm gone!" Sayori said, crossing her heart for good measure. She knew she probably sounded like a whiny teenager, but she didn't know what else to do.

"You have to promise to be careful and not talk to anyone other than your friends. If you get in trouble… Well, let's just say that you shouldn't get in trouble, for everyone's sake," The detective replied. Sayori couldn't help but notice that although the detective had his usual charming smile, there was a slightly darker tone to his voice. She decided not to think too hard about it, leaving the apartment before her roommate could change his mind.

"I promise! I'll see in a little bit!"

* * *

Sayori thought it rather stupid that everyone had liked the idea of splitting up. Hadn't horror movies, dramas about rock bands, and Scooby-Doo taught them anything? It was always a bad idea to split up! Not to mention, it was becoming even more difficult to keep her promise now. _Perhaps I can find other friends to hang around with around here._

However, Mai wasn't here now. Sayori couldn't help but brood about how the afternoon had made this a very frustrating day. Luckily, Akira at least seemed to be making progress in the investigation. That wasn't enough for Sayori. She needed to prove to herself that she could be an asset to this team. It was time to use some critical thinking skills.

 _Now, if I were targeting teens for help with illegal activities, where would I spend my time?_ Sayori looked at her surroundings, taking note of the teenage girls milling about to window shop. _Bingo._

Sayori chose a clothing store nearest to the alleyways. As she wandered close to the corner of the store, tilting her eyes and replacing her normal bright smile with a bored frown, she knew she looked like a typical disinterested teen. In other words, she was much more approachable than a bright eyed girl that looked like she carried a whistle on her person. If she was lucky, then one of the people Makoto wanted to find would walk right up to her. She just needed to find someone would fall for her bait.

* * *

"Hey there, cutie. What's up?"

The plan had worked. At Sayori's side was a young, sniveling and snobbish sort of man. Even to Sayori's rather accepting tastes, he was unattractive. He smelled as if he hadn't bathed in days, and had the looks to match. His dress was unkempt, with a stained white school uniform shirt atop oversized pants held up only by suspenders. His voice was high-pitched and obnoxious, trying to sound cool while being completely incapable of it. Yet, something in Sayori told her that he was the one she was looking for.

"Hmm?"

"Oh, so you're the quiet kind, huh? Then I guess I'll cut right to the chase. My boss is offering premium part-time jobs, and he wanted me to come out and find potential employees. You look like you've got the skills!" he snorted.

"Oh? What's the work?"

"It's kinda like uh… being a delivery man! Yeah, that's about right. A deliveryman. The boss gives us envelopes, and we deliver them to buyers. It's easy work and good pay. Whaddaya say?" He said while giving his biggest, fakest smile possible.

"Envelopes, huh? What's in them?"

The man stepped closer, hushing his tone. "Now, listen here, lady. That's a trade secret. There are people who need to know, and you aren't one of them. Are you in, or not?"

"No, thank you. I already have a job, anyway."

"Heh, whatever." The man began to walk away, his voice turning far more whiny in tone. Sayori could pick out a bit of his mumbling, "Ugh, this job sucks… Damn you, Iida…"

She had her man. All there was left to do was to tail him. Perhaps he would lead her to straight to his boss.

* * *

The man made little attempt to disguise himself in the crowd. He walked absentmindedly through the streets, hands in his pockets, completely unaware that Sayori was following his every move. He joined a few other fellow students near an alley and began to chat. Sayori was about to listen in on their conversation when a familiar face caught her eye.

"Akira? What are you doing here?" Sayori whispered, harshly.

"Gathering intel. Speaking of which, you haven't been answering our messages. Where were you?"

"I was doing a stakeout in that clothing store over there. That guy in the glasses? He tried to sell me drugs! Plus, he mentioned the name Iida!"

"I know. I just had a little chat with him at school. That's why I'm out here," Akira whispered, his eyes fixed on the group.

"What!? So I went through all of that effort for nothing?" Sayori could barely keep her voice at a whisper with all of her anger building up.

"No, you just happened to get the same information as me. Don't beat yourself up about it."

Sayori pouted, accepting the fact that she had done a good job, but still grumpy about getting the same info as Akira.

"Wait a minute, didn't you know I talked to Iida already?"

"No, nobody told me."

"Oh, wait. You're not in our DM. That's why. Lemme fix that." Akira took out his phone, tapped a few times, and soon enough Sayori felt her phone vibrate. She could see from the message history that they had been investigating all day, and she had missed all of it.

 _Maybe this whole "proving myself to the team" thing wasn't such a good idea after all.._

"Hey, uh, Sayori? Why don't you head home soon?" Akira kept looking at the group, but his face turned slightly more somber.

"Huh, why?"

"It's just, you're kinda, conspicuous, y'know? With the hair? The bow? The genki-ness? You did a good job today, I promise," Akira claimed, seemingly hiding something.

"What!? After all of that business with that obnoxious twit at the clothing store, and you want me to leave!?" whispered loudly, close to shrieking.

"Lower your voice. That 'obnoxious twit' is standing right in front of us," Akira cautioned.

One of the boys spoke up to the man from earlier. "Yo, Sidoh. Find anyone?"

"No… I tried talking to some dumb moody chick, but it didn't work…"

 _Dumb!?_ Sayori gripped the side of the wall.

"Huh. Well, get back out there and try again. This is what, your third failed attempt?"

"Yeah… Oh well… This is such a drag..."

One of the boys finally noticed Akira and Sayori, turning towards them. "Hey, what's up? Wanna see some unforgettable deals?"

"Actually, we're busy-"

Sidoh finally looked up from the sidewalk, with Sayori squarely in his sights. "Hey! You're that dumb moody chick!"

"Sayori… run."

The two of them sprinted away from the scene.

* * *

After a long day of intel gathering, the thieves finally had a name: Junya Kaneshiro. All they needed now were the two keywords. "A bank" was the first, fitting of someone who was clearly so motivated by greed. But the second, the location, would be slightly harder to figure out.

"His own hideout?"

"A real bank?"

"All of Shibuya."

 _Beginning navigation._

 **I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! If you did enjoy the chapter, please leave a review. Those are very helpful when writing, because you know what you're doing right, and what could use a little work. I'm thankful for all the people that have left reviews so far, but I would like to hear what everyone thinks. There are so many people who took time to Favorite and Follow it, I just want to know what you all are thinking as the story progresses, so my partner and I can continue to do a good job. Also, another Death Note reference was in this chapter, because the characters are finally dealing with the mafia! Google "Death Note Sidoh" if you need a laugh. Anyway, for those of you who have one, please enjoy your fall break! I'll see you next time.**


	25. Chapter 24

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

Sayori felt herself starting to lose confidence as she looked around the transformed Shibuya. Money swirled around in the heavy air, making the atmosphere feel murky and dim. What troubled her the most, however, were the distorted views their target had over the civilians. Just how greedy could Kaneshiro be if he only saw people as walking ATMs? The very notion filled her with sorrow. The rest of the Phantom Thieves weren't faring much better.

"So this is what Kaneshiro considers a 'bank'…'" Fox remarked, his serious tone conveying his distaste towards the situation.

"How classy," Valiant observed, sarcasm dripping from her tone.

"I never thought it would be the entire district," Mona said, walking around to get a wider view of the city. "Look around us… The distortion is affecting the whole of Shibuya."

Sayori felt that familiar pit form in her stomach. Her first official heist was set in a place like this? How would she ever be able to manage? In the background she heard her companions conversing, expressing only confusion. Perhaps Mona's confident and business-like attitude was infectious. None of them seemed nearly as intimidated as she felt right now.

"Hey, Valiant!" The combined voices of her friends shattered her haze, making her jump slightly. Sayori sheepishly turned her view from the distorted city, knowing she probably looked like she was about to vomit. They had concerned looks on their faces, making the girl's guilt and sorrow increase.

"Valiant, we need to get going. Tell us what's on your mind now, so you'll be able to focus," Joker said, the authority in his voice making it clear there was no room for questioning.

"Will I really be able to do this? I've barely gotten a chance to practice any of this stuff with you guys… I'm not ready!" The girl felt ashamed of her cowardice. She was wearing the clothes of a noble, yet the weight of that role was proving to be too heavy to bare.

"You're talkin' like you're gonna be doin' the entire thing yourself," Skull replied. "C'mon, this will be even better than practicin' in Mementos!"

"We'll perform this operation just like we planned. You'll offer protection if we were to need it, while the rest of us handle attacks. It shouldn't be a too much of a challenge," Fox added.

"We'll do this together! There's no need to doubt yourself as long as you stick with us," Panther assured.

"Don't get weak knees already, Valiant. We'll need you for support in case we meet with any surprises," Mona said sternly, his own form of encouragement.

Joker stepped forth with his own advice. "You can _trust_ us, Valiant. We'll steal Kaneshiro's distorted desires, and the world will be better because of it. You can look at that accomplishment and be proud that you helped."

Sayori felt overwhelmed. She wished she could stay there forever and tell them how much their words meant to her, but they had already wasted enough time. The best way she could thank them was to follow their lead. It was the most effective way to let them know their words had stuck. Looking up with a small grin, Valiant whispered, "What are we waiting for then? Let's go."

* * *

"It's no use… It's all over… I'll end up just like them…" The ATM human hybrid struggled to say, his pained moans and sparking, broken body made his suffering more apparent. Valiant cringed. How many of these had they spoken too so far? Broken machines who didn't have a dime left to give… They were almost as pitiful as the ones that had completely shut down. They resembled corpses littering the ground.

"What happened?" Joker prompted, hoping they had finally found someone who knew where the bank they were trying to find was.

"Can't you tell? I've fallen… fallen so far…" The ATM mumbled, regret staining his voice. "From a place where Kaneshiro leaves no tracks…"

"Hm, what could that mean…?" Fox pondered to himself.

Skull began to ask for more information, "Hey, you gotta tell us a little more than-"

"I'm… too tired… Please… let me rest…" The ATM hybrid muttered. Although she knew it wouldn't do any good, Valiant reached over and gave the machine a light pat on the shoulder. The next instant, the machine fell to the ground, lifeless. The thief jumped back, startled.

"I don't think he can speak anymore," Mona observed. "Kaneshiro leaves no tracks…? Is that supposed to be literal or figurative?"

"Hey, why don't we go over all the intel we have now?" Panther suggested. Valiant nodded in agreement. The air felt even heavier than it had just a moment ago, and she desperately wanted to get out of there before it got worse.

* * *

Valiant was speechless as she looked up at the palace with the other thieves. The hovering bank was like a giant vacuum, sucking all o the money out of the air. Already numerous possibilities of how they could get up there flew through her head, none of which would be easy.

"So, how do we get up there? Can you turn into a helicopter, Morgana?" Panther asked. Valiant looked at the cat creature hopefully.

"No… just a car," Mona responded glumly.

"You're useless! C'mon, don't you have some kinda secret gadget or something!?" Skull exclaimed, right before Valiant lightly smacked the back of his head.

"Don't be mean! Besides, there are other ways to get up there. Maybe we could come back with climbing supplies? Then if we can get to the top of these buildings, maybe a grappling hook?" While she knew she was thinking too inside the box, Valiant knew it would be the easiest thing to do given the current situation. Especially since two weeks wouldn't be enough time to build a catapult, and still have time to perform a heist.

"This may be the limit of what we can do today," Fox said somberly.

"We gotta find a way to get up there… that won't wear us out," Skull added for Valiant's benefits.

"Let's think about it some more tomorrow, OK?" Panther suggested.

"All right, we should get out of here for now! Run for it!" Mona exclaimed. The Phantom Thieves ran from the giant palace, ending their plans for the day.

* * *

Goro Akechi looked up from the book he was reading when Sayori entered through the front door. "Did you have fun hanging out with your friends?" the detective asked.

The girl only moaned in response and collapsed on the couch. The detective chuckled, setting the book on the table. Walking over to her, he lightly tapped her on the shoulder. "Are you acting this way because you didn't have fun? Or are you just exhausted because you did?" He watched as his roommate lifted up her arm, giving him a "so-so" gesture, before immediately lowering it.

"Well it's nice to know that you still have the energy to respond. I just hope you don't have enough energy to respond to the fact that I read ahead in our book," Goro walked over to his chair and retrieved a plastic bag. He waited five seconds before looking up. Sayori had finally processed his confession, and from the way her head shot up, she wasn't pleased.

"Boo! I wanted to read the rest of that book with you! How far did you get? Maybe there are still some good parts left," Sayori walked over and investigated the book, only for the detective to shake his head.

"I read the whole thing," he said, breaking the news to her in the most serious voice he could muster. Still, the detective wanted to laugh at the big deal she was making out of it. Sayori sat down sadly, trying to find a bright spot in this new depressing situation.

"What was your favorite part? Mine has always been when they find out that their parents are alive after all," the girl finally said, regaining a hopeful smile. Goro sat down and thought for a moment, finally remembering his favorite scene, which had also come with a helpful illustration.

"While I suppose your scene is alright, it's not my favorite. Personally, I think I would have made more sense if they remained orphans," Goro replied. He resisted gritting his teeth as Sayori gave him a questioning look. "Instead, I think I liked the moment when Mr. Canis turned into the Big Bad Wolf. I can only imagine the liberation he felt in that moment."

The detective looked at Sayori for confirmation, only to see her questioning gaze turn into a grimace. "I wouldn't say that exactly. You'll just have to see for yourself. One of these days I'll ask what your personal experiences are to not like my scene, but I'll keep quiet for now."

Goro nodded to himself, storing the information away for later. He then looked back to the book and smirked. "I'm just guessing for this part, but when do Sabrina and Puck get together? They have the typical relationship of two kids who hate each other, but then obviously get together eventually."

"Well, there's a lot of chemistry beforehand, but they don't get together until… Hey, wait a minute! I'm not spoiling this for you!" Sayori shouted, trying to appear upset. Though the happy look on her face told the detective all he needed to know.

"Well, I'm glad you've cheered up. Before we move on from your books, I would like to say that one scene inspired me to do something I have been meaning to do for a long time," Goro finally withdrew a black journal of his own from the plastic bag. He tossed it to Sayori, who somehow managed to slip off the couch in an attempt to catch it.

Standing up from her spot on the floor, Sayori started flipping through the pages, seeing several pages already filled with writing. "What is it?" She finally asked, tossing it back to him.

"It's a commonplace book. While I already keep all of my notes in my laptop, studies say that writing things down makes it easier to remember them. The book says that all members of this detective family own a journal for this very purpose. Not to mention that it's a tradition for… something. I can't exactly remember," the detective feigned ignorance. He saw Sayori light up out of the corner of his eye.

"They keep them so future generations know what they've gone through!" She exclaimed, only to become confused. "But why would that matter to you?"

"I am the second coming of the detective prince, or at least that's what everyone says. There may be a third, one day. Besides, although I'm only seventeen, it's a fun thing to think about… having a future generation. Actually, I guess that doesn't make much sense, does it?" Sayori watched Goro laugh to himself, though it seemed forced. "Besides, that's not the important part of this particular commonplace book. Flip to the front."

Sayori did as she was asked. Flipping to the first page, she gasped when she read the description. "This entire thing… is just for my case?" A small smile crossed her face, complimented by her cheeks turning a light pink. She felt so happy, but also felt like crying at the same time. It was a strange feeling, to feel so touched yet so guilty at the same time.

When he saw the blush, the detective looked away and cleared his throat. "Among other things, yes. I think I'm going to keep a notebook for every single case I happen to have. I think it would be easier to stay organized that way."

"Does that mean you have one for the Phantom Thieves too?" Sayori asked, knowing she may be stepping into dangerous territory.

"Sae-san is insistent that this is her case, so I didn't see the point. She's started acting… off, lately. I wouldn't want to upset her by keeping notes that weren't accessible to her at all times," Goro explained, pretending not to notice the brief flash of disappointment that crossed Sayori's face.

"Oh. Well, can you at least tell me how it's going? Maybe laying all your thoughts out on the table will help you connect dots," Sayori suggested, acting as innocent as possible. She watched as the detective's face became grim and serious.

"Without another person to have a change of heart, I have arrived at a bit of a dead end. Though I have a feeling that the Phantom Thieves will target another person soon," the detective's dead serious gaze darted to his roommate's, before looking away again. "I still have no idea about what their methods could be, but considering everything that's happened lately… I want you to be careful."

Sayori froze. _Has he figured it out? What's he trying to say?_

"Your own heart was changed, but in the process we were both taken to that strange place. I don't know what it was, but it was clearly dangerous. Sayori, if you come across anyone you don't feel safe around, anyone who has the potential to be a target of the Phantom Thieves, I want you to run away from that person. If you end up in that place again…" Goro trailed off as a million possibilities ran through his head. He knew she wouldn't listen to him, but maybe he could at least inspire her not to be careless.

Sayori relaxed. She wouldn't give him a reason to worry. Even if she had to do something something that would worry him eventually, he wouldn't have to know anything.

"I'll do my best, Goro. I promise."

* * *

The next day, Sayori walked to the hideout, wondering if anyone had come up with anything. However, her hopes were soon dashed as Ryuji immediately muttered, "We ain't got nothin…"

"Are we out of luck…?" Ann asked sadly. Upon hearing that, Sayori knew her previous plan was way past dismissed. Not that it mattered. It probably wouldn't have worked anyway.

"It's no fair his Palace is up in the sky…" Morgana whined.

"I suppose that's the point," Sayori mumbled, equally downcast.

"If only we could contact the real Kaneshiro…" Yusuke said, causing Sayori to freeze.

 _Why do I have the feeling that's exactly what is going to happen?_ A worried, nervous expression took over her face.

Everyone's attention was suddenly drawn to a familiar face. Sayori would admit to being rather displeased at seeing Makoto. Though it was Ann it expressed it first.

"What do you want," Ann asked, clearly upset by the other girl's presence.

"Nothing in particular. I just saw you all together here," Makoto explained, as if nothing was wrong at all.

Sayori, thoroughly over the conversation, let her attention wander around her surroundings. She had no interest in sparing the student council president any unnecessary attention. However, that plan was soon diverted when something unexpected happened.

 _Right now, you're useless to me. All you do is eat away at my life._

Sayori gritted her teeth, leaning against the wall. Trying to appear nonchalant, the girl turned away from the group. It was very clear to her now. She had a lot left to learn about the boundaries of her awareness.

 _So you're just the good-girl type of pushover._

 _Right now, you're useless to me._

Sayori felt so shocked and confused. When had Goro said that? How come she hadn't heard about it until now? Makoto… really had people say that to her? It was becoming very obvious that Sayori and her roommate needed to talk.

"Sayori, what's wrong," Yusuke asked, his face filling her recently blurry vision. Sayori tensed, knowing that jumping backwards would make her bump into the wall.

"Just a headache," she lied. Looking around him, the girl saw that Makoto had disappeared.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Speaking of headaches…" Yusuke responded with exasperation, "We have a student council president to follow. Let's go." The artist grabbed Sayori by her wrist and lead her in the direction everyone else had already gone.

* * *

After spending an annoyingly long amount of time in a taxi, the building they found themselves in was no comfort. It was an even bigger pain to once again lay eyes on the annoying twit from earlier. Briefly, Sayori considered the possibility that there was more than one in the room, which was filled with shady looking characters. Almost all of them reeked of alcohol and drugs, which could be smelled even from the distant spot they found themselves in. Poor Makoto was pinned to the ground by these drunk thugs.

"What in the world?" Ann asked, clearly aghast at the scene in front of them. Sayori tensed beside her as everyone in the room looked up at the group.

"Who the fuck are you?" The one who was holding Makoto down asked angrily. Sidoh sat beside him, looking up briefly. Making eye contact with Sayori, a brief flash of recognition and… something Sayori didn't like flashed in his eyes. _Maybe I should reconsider that offer for a taser…_

"Niijima-san!" Yusuke shouted, looking quite concerned. Sayori quietly tried to slip behind the blue-haired boy, getting uncomfortable with all of the wandering eyes staring at her. _It's what I get for being in a stupid dating game!_

"What the hell'd you do to her!?" Ryuji yelled, his tense demeanor suggesting he was ready to attack someone. Sayori peeked out from behind her spot, double checking. Considering the thugs in the room, it was a relief that they hadn't done anything other than pin Makoto down.

There was a fat man in the back of the room, sitting completely calm, acting as if he owned the place. It was obvious to everyone that this was the man they were looking for, Kaneshiro. Glancing at the teenagers, he seemed to understand what was going on. "Ohh, I get it," he said calmly. He then turned to his lackeys with an enraged expression. "You got followed, you dumb shits!"

Shifting his position, the man opened a large briefcase, which had dozens of stacks of cash. Morgana seemed amazed at the amount of riches. Sayori was more concerned with the thought that mafia members probably had dozens of places to hide weapons. Did he have a gun hidden somewhere amongst all of that cash?

"That bag you saw the other day-the crocodile one. How much was it?" Kaneshiro asked the woman beside him. The woman cocked her head, taking a moment to remember.

"About three million?" she said, not quite sure herself. Kaneshiro grabbed a few stacks from the briefcase and handed it to her. Were they really here just to watch him give her a present. This was torture. The gaudy woman squealed, making their everyone's ears hurt, "For reals!?"

"Better thank those guys," Kaneshiro stated, looking at the group.

"What…?" Ryuji asked, clearly confused.

Kaneshiro's eyes seemed to twitch. "I'm royally pissed right now. Can you tell? You know how spending money relieves stress? It's you goddamn brats sniffing around like dogs and barging in here like you own the joint…!" Sayori tensed at his growing voice. A bad feeling settled into the air, making it feel heavy. It was even worse than the air in the metaverse, rotten and stained with greed.

"See this empty space? I'm so pissed that now there's a three million yen gap here. It pisses me off even more if I don't fill it up. I'm a perfectionist," Kaneshiro seemed smug. "So, good luck."

What is that supposed to mean?" Yusuke asked angrily. Sayori tried to shrink back into her hiding place behind him. The snap of a camera interrupted her. She glanced over to see Kaneshiro with his phone out.

"Come on, you all look so tense. I think I'll call it… 'Debauchery of Minors at a Club.' So, can I send this to your school?" The smug man seemed to be trying to dish out heart attacks with his threat. Sayori was beginning to feel like the room was spinning.

"Oh, damn, I got some booze and cigs in the shot! Maybe some drugs too?" Kaneshiro leaned back in his seat, sarcasm heavy in his voice. "Ahh… This is so hilarious. I feed on dumbshits like you. Understand, pretty little student council president?" The man asked haughtily. "Now listen up. Run your mouth to the police, and I'll break all of you, starting with your families."

Even in the midst of her blooming panic attack, Sayori managed to come up with a sarcastic comeback in her head. _What family?_ At this rate, she could be considered an orphan, couldn't she?

"I want to give you the usual month, but well, you have such a large group here…" The horrid man had an expression of mock pity. "Three weeks. Bring three million yen by then. No less. Summer bonuses are around the corner, you know? It'll be easy if you beg your mommies and daddies." The crooks around Kaneshiro began to laugh. "Now get out of my sight. I'm about to have some fun."

"What!? To hell with that!" Ryuji shouted. Sayori was about to suggest that they get out of there before she passed out, only for Morgana to beat her to the punch.

"Don't bother with him. Makoto's safety is more important right now," the cat creature advised. The thug that was holding Makoto down stood up, releasing the girl from his grasp. Sayori managed a small smile in relief. At least Kaneshiro's "fun" didn't involve Makoto.

* * *

As soon as they were at a safe distance from the club, Yusuke set Sayori down on a nearby bench. "I can't believe you managed to hold yourself together for so long," he commented as he watched the girl start to hyperventilate.

"Yusuke, this is so messed up! Is this going to happen every time? It hasn't even been an entire day yet, and I already managed to break another promise," Sayori began to break down in a sob. Her body trembled. "What am I going to say to him? I really did want to prove our justice, just like you guys keep saying… But how can I do that when everything is… is…" Unable to continue ranting, the girl focused on crying. Her panicked behavior was making everyone feel even worse

"I'm so sorry," Makoto whispered sadly. "I didn't mean to drag you in like this…" Everyone looked at her with the same expression of regret. "I was stupid…" The girl seemed incredibly disappointed in herself.

Yusuke looked up from his spot on the bench, " I must agree. You should've easily imagined this happening." He inwardly cringed as he continued to console the pink-haired girl beside him.

"Hey, Yusuke," Ann began to chide, only for Yusuke to gesture to Sayori with a stern look.

Sniffling, the girl pushed his hand away. "Yusuke. Ann is right. That was uncalled for."

"I was so caught up in trying to be useful…" Makoto continued, only for Ryuji to cut her off.

"All right, enough of the blame game! What's done is done," the blonde spoke, having calmed down considerably.

"I'm going to cause trouble for Sis too…" Makoto said sadly, seeming not to have heard Ryuji.

"Sis?" Ann asked. Sayori remembered the scene from earlier. Was that the woman who said such mean things?

"My older sister has a commendable job, and she's a much more remarkable person than me… A lot happened after we lost our father three years ago, so it's just us living together… But I'm still a child, so all I am is a burden to her…" Makoto explained sadly. Sayori decided to keep the peek on what was clearly a private conversation to herself. It would only make Makoto feel worse.

"And that's why you were so reckless?" Yusuke questioned. He seemed to be trying to be more understanding. He stood up from the bench, giving Sayori some space to calm the rest of the way down.

"I just wanted to be useful in some way to someone…" Makoto said regretfully.

"Y'know, I might not get your whole situation, but ain't it a bit off saying that you're useless to her?" Ryuji asked. Sayori shook her head silently. That was sadly what both of them seemed to think.

"It's the truth though…" Makoto continued. She then looked at Ann. "In particular, I have to apologize for what happened to you." Ann could only look confused. "Now that I think on it, the truth about Kamoshida must've been covered up by the whole school. I had my suspicions, but… I couldn't do anything about it."

Morgana and Akira looked at each other, their ideas coming together in unison. Akira was the first to speak up.

"Say, Makoto, what if I told you that there is a way you can do something about this situation?"

"What…?" Makoto stammered, clearly shocked at the idea. The rest of the team, however, knew exactly what he was referring to.

Sayori was quick to express her disapproval. "Seriously!? We're going in there now!?"

 **I hope you guys liked this longer than normal chapter. It just sort of happened this way. Anyway, because that test I told you all about is coming up soon, and since I'm still waiting on any response about the Q &A, I thought I'd give you guys a helpful example of fun things to ask for. They can be serious questions about the writing process, maybe about a certain aspect of the story that you were wondering about(though if it's a spoiler, I'm sad to say I won't tell you.) Or my favorite thing about certain Q&A segments, goofy fun questions that may result in a mini story. For instance, what might be a cool AU for this story?(The answer being a mage and demon queen AU, or a theater kids AU). Please give me your thoughts on this possible activity, you guys! I would love to do it, but I need participants. Anyway, please read, review, and I'll see you all next time!**


	26. Chapter 25

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

The team, after entering the palace and explaining the surroundings to Makoto, arrived at Shadow Kaneshiro's bank. Sayori raised her shield ever so slightly, anticipating a fight at any moment. The team had a civilian with them now, it was her duty to protect her, as well as the rest of the team, at any cost. If the ATM people dying in the street were any indication, this palace would contain many things to protect them from. As the thieves approached the front desk, they were stopped by shadow security guards.

"Excuse me, but do you have an appointment?" one of the guards asked, gruffly.

"I have to talk to him. Now, let me through!" shouted Makoto.

Suddenly, the voice of Kaneshiro could be heard coming from a P.A. system. " _Let them pass._ "

The security guards backed away and let the thieves walk forward. "Reception is further in to the right. I strongly advise that you do not attempt to go elsewhere."

The thieves complied, heading straight for the reception room. A large stack of money sat on a table in front of them. "How many beef bowls could I eat with this?" thought Ryuji, out loud. Sayori was about to make a snide comment when Kaneshiro's voice interrupted her.

" _Unauthorized entry, property damage, and other disturbances. That comes to three million yen in total. You're here regarding that, correct, Miss Beautiful President?_ " The horrendous visage of Shadow Kaneshiro came onto a television on the wall. He heavily resembled the real Kaneshiro in build alone, but his hair was slicked back and his skin was tinted purple. " _It must be quite tough gathering so much money. I'd be willing to give you a loan, you know._ "

"You gonna call it off, then?" inquired Ryuji.

" _No- a loan. The interest rate is ten percent a day._ "

Sayori and Ann did their best to figure out the math behind the loan, stumbling over their words in the process. However, Makoto managed to solve it before them. "It's three-hundred thousand yen."

" _There's no need to be alarmed. I have a more manageable option for people like you_ ," said Kaneshiro.

"That was your plan from the beginning, wasn't it?"

" _Quite the impressive insight, Niijima-san. Or, should I say, the younger sister of the beautiful prosecutor, Sae Niijima?_ " A coy smile grew across his face as he said this.

Everyone except Sayori was shocked to hear this news. Sayori was more surprised that they hadn't figured it out sooner.

"H-how do you know that!?"

" _Please don't underestimate our intelligence network. My, what wonderful goods have come falling into my lap. Young women are so useful. They lack physical strength and are dumb. It's as if they only exist to be devoured by the strong._ "

Sayori felt more disgusted than usual at this comment. She didn't like being reminded of Kamoshida.

"You better be ready, Kaneshiro! We're gonna snatch your Treasure from you!"

" _Don't make me laugh, petty thieves! My citadel has the highest security installed in it!_ "

A group of security shadows appeared before the thieves. " _Anyone will do anything for money. I'll rob you of your lives as easily as I breathe air,_ " Shadow Kaneshiro laughed. " _...Get them._ "

The shadows transformed into large, red Personas, similar to the one that Shadow Natsuki had transformed into before. Sayori now knew that these were called Onis. She additionally knew that none of her attacks would be effective on them. Nobody in the team, except for maybe Joker, had the ability to knock down an Oni. They had tried many times. They would have to resort to brute force.

The thieves fought their hardest against the multiple squads of Onis, and they were successful in defeating them. Broken and battered, the thieves began to retreat from the palace.

"Why did the security guards turn into monsters!? And what were those supernatural powers…!? Could those have been the Personas you mentioned!?" Makoto asked, shocked.

"Does it look like the time to be asking questions like that!? We need to retreat! Makoto, make sure you don't get separated from us!" commanded Morgana, before the thieves bolted into the lobby. They were about to bust through the door when they were stopped by more shadows, as well as Shadow Kaneshiro himself.

"You seem to be in quite a pickle. I must say, thieves, I do thank you for providing me with such wonderful goods." A cruel smile grew upon Kaneshiro's face. "...It's time you disappear." The team was soon surrounded by shadows on all sides. "Managing a bank is tough- that's why I make it a case to kill troublesome customers. Having one impertinent brat disappear is enough to set an example in that other world."

"Please, stop!" cried Makoto, desperately.

"Get away from her!" cried Sayori, raising her shield. "I'll smite you where you stand if you come any closer!"

"Ohohoho. As if I care about the thoughts of some little girl," laughed Shadow Kaneshiro. Sayori gritted her teeth at the comment, straightening her shield even further. "I'll eliminate all others besides my goods. You two have no need to worry. I must say, her sister is quite a beauty though. I'll make sure to make her my personal slave. Once I get bored, I'll just sell her off. Oh, poor Sis… She could've been successful, if only her younger sister wasn't so useless."

"My sister has nothing to do with this!" shouted Makoto.

"Then you better start taking customers tomorrow. All you gotta do is endure it and do as you're told..."

"Endure it… Do as I'm told..."

"You'll earn three million yen in no time. Although, your life and everything along with it will be a complete wreck by then!" said Kaneshiro, following it up with an appropriately evil laugh.

"I've been listening to you go on and on… Shut your damn mouth, you money-grubbing asshole!"

The team watched as Makoto balled her hands into fists tightly. They could not hear what was happening in her head, but they could infer it. Their suspicions were confirmed when they heard Makoto shout, "Yes! Come to me!" Her eyes turned yellow as she began to writhe in pain. She stomped her foot so hard that the tile beneath her shattered into pieces. A large, metal mask appeared across her face. She began to grip it tightly, tearing it off of her face as a massive, blue explosion erupted from beneath her. From the ashes of the explosion came a massive motorcycle, with a familiar face riding on top of it. It was Makoto, now sporting a spiked leather outfit. Sayori began to back off, feeling that Makoto was more than capable of protecting herself.

"I can feel it… My _self_... Me!" Makoto gripped the handles of her Persona tighter. "Gun it!" She sped directly into the shadows, nearly running over Sayori before performing an 180 degree turn and blowing away the shadows with her sheer speed. "I'll never lose my heart again, never. I will go full speed, non-stop! Right, Johanna!?"

The Oni, as well as a Sui-Ki, appeared once more, but the thieves felt better knowing that Makoto was on their side.

"Don't get all cocky just because I normally behave myself! I am done playing nice!"

"More Oni!? These things are starting to get on my nerves!" shouted Sayori.

It turned out that the hopes of the thieves would be well founded. Makoto could utilize the Nuclear element, which the Sui-Ki was weak to. After a long and hard battle, the security squads were dispatched yet again.

"We know how to get in now. Our objective's been accomplished!" cried Morgana.

"But how are we getting out!?" asked Ann.

"There's only one exit, right? I'm going on ahead, so follow me!" Makoto pulled another 180 degree turn before racing out the front door. Needless to say, the thieves were impressed. However, there was no time to celebrate. The thieves crowded into the Monabus and raced away.

* * *

The next day, Sayori was at her library post yet again. Mai was awaiting another one of Makoto's visits, worried about whether this would be the day that she would be fired.

"Y'know, why's the Student Council President gotta be so difficult all the time? Harassing us and stuff. We do good work around here, why's she gotta bother us?" asked Mai, somewhat irritated.

"I dunno," replied Sayori, who was too focused on her fantasy novel to think about it.

As if by fate, Makoto walked in through the door. Mai shot up from her seat at the sight of her, hoping that she hadn't heard her previous comments.

Sayori put down her book with a smile and a short "hello!" upon seeing Makoto enter.

"Student Council President! Welcome! Is it time for another inspection?" asked Mai, who had her hands and arms placed so tightly at her side that she resembled a nutcracker.

"Eh, not today. I'm just here to see Sayori," replied Makoto, waving her hand at Mai as if to try and put her at ease.

"Uh, really? I-I mean, yeah! Feel free!" Mai said, stepping away from her post quickly. She kept her eyes locked on Makoto, as if she was facing down a wild animal that she was afraid would attack her. Makoto rested her hands on the library desk and began to chat with Sayori. Yet, it wasn't the sort of chat that Mai expected. In fact, it was just a normal girls' chat, some nerdy talk about books, nothing that Mai had seen the student council president talk about before.

Furthermore, her demeanor was entirely different. She was calm and composed like usual, but she also didn't appear to have a stick shoved up her ass like usual either. She was, for lack of a better word, normal. As the two continued to talk, Mai felt herself becoming more and more confused.

 _What the hell am I looking at?_

 **I hope everyone enjoyed that chapter. I suppose now I should tell you my official plan for next week in light of that test. While there will still be a Q &A, in case there aren't too many who have a question to ask, my partner and I will be doing another writing activity for entertainment. We will be choosing random prompts to write about, including, but not limited to the AUs mentioned last week. If anybody has ideas for what to write about in that regard as well, please leave them in a review. I am looking forward to hearing what you all might have to say. Anyway, please read, review, and we'll see you all next week!**


	27. AU Anthology(Bonus Chapter)

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

 **Just to clarify things right off the bat, my partner and I are using code names for ourselves during these parts.**

In an average living room in an average house, in the most average and boring state you can think of (except that weather sucks too), a boy and a girl sat on a couch. The girl, who we'll call Rhiannon, was glaring at her computer in frustration. The boy, hypothetically called Dewitt, based on a game reference the girl didn't get, had all of his attention on the TV in front of him.

"Rhiannon, what's with the long face?" Dewitt asked, pausing his game in slight concern.

"I'm stumped. I'm uninspired. I'm... being repetitive, too," The girl muttered, shutting the laptop. "Most importantly, I can't think of anything to write for this week's chapter! I don't want to be putting too much focus on plot driven things, because finals suck, but going on another hiatus is going to make me break out in hives!"

"Knowing you, that isn't an overstatement."

"Hush, you. Now, let me think of things," Rhiannon put her hand to her chin in deep thought. "Donuts… Coffee… white chocolate... Wait, that's it!"

"What's it?" Dewitt was utterly confused how those three things were an explanation for this predicament.

"Coffee Shop AUs! Let's do some writing prompts! Though, considering there's already a coffee shop in this story, a coffee shop AU is unnecessary. I must journey to the all powerful Tumblr," Rhiannon immediately busted upon her laptop with enthusiasm while her partner facepalmed.

"That place again? You know I can't stand it there."`

"Well, smart guy, you get to go first then! Do your worst," Rhiannon slid the laptop towards Dewitt with a smirk.

"Alright, but I ain't making any promises as to its quality," Dewitt said, exhaling exasperatedly. "Only for you, Rhiannon, only for you," he said, breaking out of his traditional grumpiness to grow a small smile.

"Well, to focus on character traits, I recommend this particular prompt," Rhiannon pointed to her master list of AUs, the one at the top being her main point of focus.

"Knowing this pancake dude, I admit it fits," Dewitt agreed, beginning to type. "He is a real crazy son of a bitch."

* * *

A strange grumbling woke Sayori up in the middle of the night. It sounded like the rumble of a bear in the woods, but it was localized entirely within her bedroom. Or, rather, her bedroom that she shared with Akechi. She turned towards the source of the sound and realized that it was Akechi himself producing it.

 _He must be having trouble sleeping… Poor thing._

"Bitch…"

 _What!?_

"Shido… no…"

 _Oh. He must be having another nightmare._

"Stop… Persona…"

 _Yeah, kick his ass!_

"Akira…"

 _Akira? Why's he dreaming about Akira?_

"Piece of shit…"

 _Woah, there… I know that they have their differences, but jeez..._

"Loki…"

 _Loki? Who's Loki?_

"Sayori…"

 _Ooh, he's dreaming about me?_

"Together…"

 _It's alright. We'll always be together._

"No… No… No…"

 _I ought to wake him up now. Seems like his dream is getting worse._

Gently, Sayori turned towards Akechi and placed her hand on his side, beginning to wobble him around so that he would wake up. "Hey, Akechi! Wake up!"

Goro was startled awake. "Wuh-what? What's going on?"

"You were having a nightmare. A real bad one, from what I can tell."

"Oh, alright. Thanks for saving me, then. I can't really remember what I was dreaming about. G'night, Sayori."

"Night, Akechi." Sayori was about to fall back asleep when she felt compelled to say something. "Hey, Akechi?"

"Hmm?" He muttered in his tired state.

"I'm here for you. Always."

Sayori couldn't see it, but Akechi grew a smile across his entire face after hearing those words. "I know," he lovingly said in response. The two fell soundly asleep, together.

* * *

"My turn!" Rhiannon shouted enthusiastically. "And I know just what to write about. Dewitt, what was the worst thing about the anime adaptation?"

"Not even a compliment for me, huh? Alright. As for your question, I suppose it was the animation as well as how rushed everything was. Why are we talking about this?"

Rhiannon made a buzzer sound, "Wrong! But first, yes, you did wonderful! The worst thing is that despite how many times Akechi shows up without needing to, we never see him as a little kid! That is an injustice I won't stand for!" An evil smile appeared on the girl's face.

"Lord… What am I ever gonna do with you?"

"You know it's true! Now it's time to work my magic!" Rhiannon grabbed her necklace, the little mask charm hanging off the end. "That's my persona's ability." Sounds of simultaneously evil and cute laughter echoed through the living room as Rhiannon began to write.

* * *

The playground was Sayori's favorite place to spend her time as a little girl. Running around with her friends, playing on the swings, and climbing on the playset were only a few of the ways she liked to devote her time. The fact that it was a large neighborhood also mean that there were always other kids there to play with.

However, on that one weekend morning, this turned out to not be the case.

It was cold on that particular day, the weather suggesting the cold rain that often meant it was almost winter, but not quite. Most around the neighborhood had deemed the weather too dreary to let their children out. However, this wasn't a concern for Sayori. Her babysitter had agreed. This was most likely based on the fact that the woman had a relaxed attitude, or simply because she didn't know what she was doing. Either way, Sayori found herself alone on the swingset for the majority of her time at the playground that day.

It was only when Sayori was getting ready to leave, her fingers finally too numb for her to hold onto the swings, that the second child for that day arrived. Bundled in a tattered coat and a red scarf, his face was mostly obscured from the girl's view. Sitting down in the sandbox, he looked both ways, as if to make sure he was alone. Sayori didn't know why, but she found herself hiding behind the playset. She watched as the boy, satisfied that he was alone, sat down and began playing in the sand. _I should leave him alone…_ Sayori backed away from the playset, ready to turn around and go home.

It was then that her nose began to itch. The girl immediately went into panic mode. Covering her nose with her hands, she began to run towards home. Sadly, she didn't notice the branch on the ground. Tripping, she hit the ground. Her knees began to sting, and she couldn't help but cry out. As if to put the final nail in her coffin, she finally sneezed. Looking up, she noticed with dismay that the boy had indeed noticed her.

"Um… I'm sorry for disturbing you," Sayori tried. "I was just leaving." The boy seemed disinterested in what she was saying. Instead, he was about to resume his playing. Despite herself, Sayori couldn't help but think how rude this was. Getting up, she prepared to leave, only to release a slight hiss of pain as weight was put on her legs.

"Are you alright?" The voice was small and timid. Before Sayori knew what was happening, the boy was leading her to a spot by the sandbox. Only when she sat down on the ground did she notice that her leggings were ripped.

"Oh no! My babysitter is going to be so mad," Sayori couldn't help but begin to cry. The boy beside her now had wide eyes. Now it seemed like his turn to panic.

"Whoa, hey! Calm down. It will be alright. Let's cover up these scrapes first before we worry about your clothes," The little boy had his hand on his chin in deep thought. After a few seconds of this he looked down in realization. He grabbed one end of his scarf and began unwrapping it from around his face. "I don't have anything else on me, and I don't think it would be a good idea to go to my house to patch you up, so I hope this will work." He began to wrap the scarf around one of her knees, cringing when she gasped. However, it wasn't from pain that she was gasping.

With the scarf removed from his head, Sayori had a clear look of his face. His brown hair was rather messy and long, looking as if it had never met a brush. His eyes had a rather dead look to them, although his face showed only a deep sadness. However, none of these things grabbed her attention quite like the scrape on his cheek.

"Don't you need the scarf more than me?" Sayori asked with concern. "You need it to cover up your own?" She pointed to the injury on his face, causing him to look away nervously.

"It's nothing. I got this a little while ago," he finished wrapping up Sayori's knees and stood up with a rather proud smile. "It was nice to finally meet someone from around the neighborhood before I go."

"Before you go? Huh?" Sayori stood up in shock. "I thought you were new! I've never seen you before. How long have you been here?"

"About a month. I'm not really supposed to go outside. But since I'm finally leaving tomorrow, I figured it would be okay. The playground always looked like fun," The boy went back to the sandbox and began to make a small pile.

"A month?! So much wasted time that I could have spent playing with you," Sayori whined. She had made up her mind. All thoughts of going home were now gone. She stepped into the sandbox and sat down next to him. "Well, I'll make up for it today. How long are you going to stay here?"

"Until my… guardians come yelling for me," the boy suddenly looked worried. "You should go home now… You probably need like… ten Barbie band-aids or something."

"It doesn't even hurt that much anymore," Sayori waved him off. "Besides, the sandbox isn't fun to play with by yourself. I'll keep you company. Then we can play on the swings together."

The boy looked like he was about to argue more, only to suddenly gain a look of resignation. "Fine…"

"I'm Sayori, by the way," The girl waited for him to respond, making handprints in the sand to entertain herself.

"Goro…" The boy whispered. Sayori noticed a small, barely visible smile on his face.

* * *

"So, what did you think?" Rhiannon asked, doing a perfect imitation of Cristine from Simply Nailogical.

"Well, it was rather cute. So cute that it nearly melted my frozen heart," Dewitt said, grumbling as usual.

"You have to have a heart before it can be frozen," Rhiannon said savagely.

"Damn... I think that one actually hurt."

"I apologize," Rhiannon replied, seeming apologetic. "To make up for it, I'll let you write the next one."

"How kind…"

"I know, right?" Rhiannon said happily. "Anyway, here's your prompt. You have to start with this sentence specifically."

Dewitt nearly took a double take as he read the sentence. "That cat stole my wallet… the hell am I reading?"

"Your initial sentence, silly! Get creative!"

He chuckled, his fate having been sealed already. "Alright, princess. Hand it over. I'll write you something real special."

* * *

"Hey! That cat stole my wallet!"

A young man cried out into the crowd, facing down a black and white cat with his wallet in its mouth. He merely wanted to purchase an ice cream from a street vendor, but that would have to wait. There was a chase to be done.

Leaping over a fence into an alley, the cat began his escape. He didn't know why he had stolen that wallet. A wave of compulsion had just come over him as soon as he saw it, and now he had it in his mouth. He didn't know many things nowadays. All he could possibly be sure of was that, long ago, he had been a real person, a real lady's man if he remembered correctly. At least, he believed he was. Frankly, he didn't know what to believe anymore. All he knew was that, for whatever reason, stealing that man's wallet would lead to something wonderful. Exiting the alleyway onto a sidewalk, the cat continued to run.

Meanwhile, the young man had given chase. All he could think about was the horrible coincidence of having his wallet stolen on this day. He had finally gotten the job, the one that would help him get him out of that pitiful apartment building. But now? His license was in that wallet, as well as his entire measly fortune. He'd be ruined, if he could even go any lower than he already was. He had to catch the creature before it got away.

"Get out of the way! I need to catch that cat!"

The cat ran and ran, his tiny legs starting to wear out from the stress. Slower and slower he ran, too winded to continue at top speed. Finally, as if by fate, he was stopped by the oncoming boot of a passerby.

"Oh! I'm sorry, kitty! I didn't see you there!"

The young woman kneeled down to tend to the animal. He was tired and shocked by the impact of her foot, but mostly unhurt. Just another average street cat.

"No collar, huh? Poor thing. Hey, what's this you've got in your mouth?"

A wallet. It was brown, cheaply constructed, and clearly put through quite a bit of punishment over the years. Whoever owned it must have wanted it back right about now.

"Hey! Stop! That's my wallet!"

A young man cried out to her. He was tall and unkempt, wearing an oversized coat that was fitting for the cold of the current season. Despite his poor state of cleanliness, she still found him to be rather handsome. As he approached the woman, he began to catch his breath.

"Hey, *huff*, thanks! I, uh, I kinda need that back now, if you don't mind."

She handed it back to him with a smile. "Oh, no problem. It was really more of an accident than anything. I guess Mr. Kitty here stole it from you?"

"Yeah, that's what I figure. Sly little bastard snatched it right out of my hand. But, whatever. It's over now. I gotta get going."

The woman felt something within her. Something mysterious. She felt compelled to ask him a question as he walked away.

"Hey, wait! Mind if I treat you to dinner sometime? Pizza, maybe?"

"Uh, you mean it? Well, I'd be happy to come along!"

The two stepped closer. Not so close as to be uncomfortable, but closer than they were before. It was then that the cat realized his reason for stealing that wallet.

"What's your name, miss?"

"Sayori."

"Sayori, huh? Well, my name's Akechi. I guess we've both got foreign names, huh?"

The two began to talk and talk and talk. The cat watched as Akechi hailed a taxi and invited her in. As the two disappeared down the street, the cat felt a sense of peace. He really had started something wonderful.

* * *

"That was… actually rather creative, for you," Rhiannon admitted, shocked.

"Told you I could do it. You just have to put your mind to it and what-not. I just used my noggin," Dewitt smiled, tapping his head.

"So they were in New York the whole time? Or am I wrong?"

"You're right."

"That doesn't make much sense. They've got Japanese names."

"Well, you said I needed to keep the names the same. Besides, they're foreign, which makes it okay."

"If you say so. Alright, hand it back. Let's see what my next prompt is." Instead of checking Tumblr, Rhiannon scrolled through the latest reviews on their fanfic. "Well, this one suggestion coincides with one idea I had, at least a little bit…" A small smile appeared on her face as she cracked her knuckles. "I hope this is accurate to the suggestion."

* * *

The young noble sat in her throne, anxiously waiting for her friend to arrive. He was the only reason she had agreed to listen to the council's decision. If she could not be counted on to find a worthy partner in life, it was fair to assume that she wouldn't live to see the next year. So Sayori was willing to wait. It was all part of the plan, all part of her purpose.

But that didn't mean she wouldn't continue to question it.

"Elly, why exactly did it have to be a dance?"

"It is the perfect place. A setting that is filled with romance will present many options for you, my dear."

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed all of her friends giving her sympathetic looks. She was the most unstable part of this game. Everything would fall apart if she was not taken care of in the next year. It was either find a partner, or die. Her friends understood that they would be affected as well if things did not turn out this way. Still, above all they understood the importance of free will and choice.

Sayori was beginning to lose hope as the hour grew late. Perhaps it was too much to expect from him. She knew from the looks on all of the adults' faces that she should get up and at least try to be sociable. However, the suitors that had been chosen for her, were close friends and nothing more.

Yusuke was pleasant enough to spend her time with. His talk of artists and paintings was a pleasant thing to converse about, He had always had passion that Sayori lacked. But it was there that a problem lay. She didn't have enough passion to keep up with him. In the end she would only end up dragging him down. That wasn't fair to Yusuke.

Ryuji was good at racing horses. It was a sport that Sayori found made her heart race. As a young noble who would probably one day lead the knights across the land, it was essential that she be good at riding. Still, there was so much she just couldn't imagine doing with Ryuji. The activities they enjoyed doing together would grow dull. Sayori didn't want to grow apart from a good friend by taking things a step too far.

Finally, there was Akira. He worked in the kitchens alongside close friends and family, as well as Sayori's own friend Natsuki. He was an overall amazing person who got along with most people. Still, many labelled him a delinquent for reasons he didn't want to disclose to her. She supposed that was the reason they all thought the two would be the ones to end up together. After all, a good way to prove she was a good noble would be to prove his innocence. However, though there was no doubt they were close, and she had considered doing that on numerous occasions, it all came down to the fact that neither had any interest in the other in that way.

There were other suitors of course. All of the eligible men were supposed to come, after all. However, as Sayori had learned only the night before, that wouldn't be the case for everybody. That was the very reason she was willing to wait. Hadn't he promised her a first dance?

"All of this attention on you, and you still want to get in trouble," Elly muttered. "If you're going to be so stubborn about your own demise, why don't you go hang out with your friends instead of sitting there like a centerpiece?" The council leader gestured to a nearby snack table where Ann, Makoto, Futaba, Haru, Yuri, and Natsuki were all conversing. She would have also liked to talked to the boys, but expressing too much interest in any one might end the night too early. She had to give him time to keep his promise.

Stepping off the platform, Sayori hesitantly walked towards her friends. There was still no sign of Monika, which was odd. The girl was Sayori's personal advisor, and greatest aid. Yet she was nowhere to be found on what was arguably the most important day of the noble girl's life.

Finally reaching the snack table, the girl quietly grabbed a cupcake and began nibbling on it. The conversation around her died down, presumably because her friends hadn't expected for her to arrive with such a somber look in her eyes. However, it was only when she noticed their eyes not staring at her that she dared to hope.

A sudden tap on her shoulder caused her to jump. Turning around, she made eye contact with him. Dressed in white princely garb, he looked surprisingly fancy for someone of such poor status. A purple cloak was draped over his shoulders, and the hood obscured most of his space. Looking timidly both ways, it was obvious he didn't want the attention. Still, when she caught his eye and held it, his timidity gave way to a content smile.

"Sorry I'm late," Goro Akechi whispered as he took her hand. "It was a lot of trouble just to get out of the house."

"I imagine so, from what I saw just from the past couple days," Sayori replied with a knowing frown. "But let's not dwell on it now. You're here now, and just in time for that first dance you promised me."

"Quite right. Though I'm sorry to say I have a bit of a curfew tonight. I have to be home by midnight, you see…" Looking regretful, the brown eyes Sayori had grown so fond of finally managed to break away from her own.

"You'll have to tell me everything you can by then. But don't worry. Soon enough… We'll see eachother everyday," Sayori assured.

"Just as planned," Goro responded with a knowing laugh. Taking her hand lightly in his own, he lead her onto the dance floor. "Now, let's see how the clumsy knight who can't even navigate her own woods can navigate a dance floor."

"Much better than you, village kid," Sayori whispered.

* * *

"So it's basically Cinderella?" Dewitt asked in confusion. "You didn't really finish it."

"I might want to expand on it later," Rhiannon shrugged. "It might make a good bonus scene at the end of chapters, you know?"

Dewitt shook his head in exasperation. "You're just determined to create more work for yourself, aren't you?"

"It's not work if you're having fun!"

"If you say so. Not my circus, not my monkeys," Dewitt replied as he took the laptop back. The next prompt was listened on the screen, and it was this one that made him truly lose it. "Rhiannon… what the fuck is this?"

"It's your next prompt!"

"It's more like word salad than it is a prompt. 'Who wouldn't be mad if someone ate all of their cereal and faked their death for three years?' This sounds like something out of a postmodern play. I'm grumpy again," he said, with a customary grumble.

"Oh, boohoo. Channel your grumpiness into an incredible story, then."

"I'll try."

* * *

"Who wouldn't be mad if someone ate all of their cereal and faked their death for three years?"

"Well, I wouldn't be mad. I'd be distressed, sure, but not mad. Eating all of my cereal isn't too bad of a crime, in the grand scale of things. Besides, saying that they faked their death for three years implies that they come back after three years. I can just kick their ass then."

"Even then, wouldn't you be mad if your friend ghosted you for no reason for three straight years, while making you think that they were dead?"

"Again, I wouldn't be mad. I don't get mad when a loved one dies. I get sad."

"But what about when they show up again? Won't you be mad then? When all of your sadness turns out to be for no reason?"

"Well, it wasn't for 'no reason'. I legitimately thought they were dead, and my sadness came from that. Besides, there was probably a good reason for them faking their death. If that's the case, then I can forgive them."

"What kind of reason would even make it worth it?"

"Maybe the mafia was hunting them down, trying to kill them. Or, maybe, they felt so incredibly guilty about eating all of the cereal that they decided to hide, thinking that you would attempt to kill them. You need to get better at forgiving, Goro."

"The eternal optimist strikes again. How about we agree to not die, fake or otherwise, anytime soon?"

"Sure."

* * *

Rhiannon was speechless as she looked at the story. "It's alright… for word salad. Though it's possible one of us missed the point of the sentence." The girl shrugged it off as she grabbed the laptop back. "Whatever. It's my turn now."

Her cell phone vibrated in her pocket, making her eyes gleam. "Webtoons updated! Not to mention, Webtoons just gave me a great idea."

"Now, where have I heard that before?"

"Well, since I only have good ideas, you've probably heard it from me a lot," Rhiannon replied cockily. "Besides, this is a good opportunity for me to practice my Edge-kechi writing." With idea firmly in mind, the girl began to type.

* * *

The large explosion at the top of the tower was enough to knock the knight across the battleground. Skidding across the floor, Sayori realized with heavy dismay that she was cornered. She was backed up against the wall, with all other means of escape blocked by various shields and masses of fire. Right in front of her stood her adversary, a crooked smile glued to his face.

"Did a pathetic girl like you really hope to defeat me?" Hidden by dark armor, the demon prince was practically cackling with glee. "All of your party members were wiped out by my generals a long time ago. Already, they have respawned at the capital without you. **Give it up already!** " he roared, sending a final blast to the girl's shields.

As her defenses crumbled away, Sayori gave the man in front of her a defiant look. " **Never!** " she shouted back with equal force. Finding her strength, the young knight stood up and backed against a wall. Now that her shields were no more, it was useless to defend herself. So she dropped her from her chest, letting it be known to her opponent that she knew her fate. Sayori managed to catch his gaze, holding it there with a serious look.

"You might have won today… But I assure you, I'll always come back. You can count on that," Sayori knew her promise held about as much weight as a kitten to the person in front of her, but she was insistent on making her intentions clear to him. She would beat him one day, and then…

The demon prince's eyebrows rose as she took a defiant step towards him. He admired her boldness. He would give her that much. Perhaps she had finally learned how to properly hate him. It would make his job that much easier. Summoning up the rest of his power, he prepared to put the knight out of her misery.

Sayori would be completely open to him. Her determined gaze, her confidant frown of a true knight faded away, leaving her with the one weapon against him that always worked no matter the circumstances… A kind smile. Taking one more step towards him, she loved how he backed away in apprehension and shock. "I make one more vow to you, your highness. I swear, on my honor as an adventurer and knight…"

The girl let out a cough, interrupting her final words. However, Sayori knew that the demon prince was too intrigued and confused to finish her off yet. Standing up straight, she ignored the saliva and blood that was starting to leak out of her mouth. Thrusting her hand out towards his, an invitation that would always be open to him, she made her final declaration for the night.

"I swear… **That I'll make you mine!** "

That was all it took. Five words were enough to make the feared demon prince squirm. The crooked smile on his face began to curl and twist as a blush peeked out from under his imposing dark mask. It was as if genuine glee at the promise of her return was trying to make itself known, only for bitter instinct to push it back down again. Finally, the smile was abandoned completely, being replaced by a dark scowl.

Taking his own step forward, the demon prince swatted the girl's hand away. His powers were overflowing as he aimed right for her stupid grin. He truly despised that smile. "For the twelfth time…"

 _He's been keeping count?!_ Sayori was absolutely giddy at the prospect.

" **I will never go out with you!** " A powerful blast exited the demon prince's being, heading full force for the knight in front of him. What was even more frustrating was the small wave that the girl gave him, as though his absolutely devastating power was only blowing her hair back. The sudden image of it in his head was immediately pushed back as the demon finished his assault.

The moment the girl was gone, the man ripped his helmet off his face and threw it to the ground, enjoying the crashing sound it made. "Just who does that girl think she is?!" the now unmasked Goro Akechi began his tirade. Pacing around the throne room his wild mutterings echoed down the hallways of the tower. "Coming over here, wasting my time with her trite nonsense! Always acting so nauseatingly cute, and cocky, and kind each time! I'll show her…"

.

.

.

In the capital church, two people were waiting in the pews. It had been determined much earlier that in order to go about daily business properly, they should wait in shifts to retrieve their respawned friends. Today, that responsibility fell on Ann Takamaki and Akira Kurusu.

"Hey, you two?" A girl suddenly came up to them. As an employee, it was her job to make room for new arrivals and perform revivals on all who entered. "What are you two still doing in here? I already revived you, as well as all of your friends… But why did they leave and not you?"

"We're waiting for a friend to respawn," Akira was quick to explain. A sudden banging sound echoed through the building as a wooden casket landed on the ground. A small sticky note with the name "Matsu" was on the front. "Speak of the devil… There she is."

"Oh," the worker went over to the coffin and knocked on the wooden door three times. The casket vibrated slightly before a trembling sound could be heard from the inside. Ann and Akira both cringed. It was better that strangers not know the origins of those sounds.

"She faced the demon prince alone," Ann said without prompting. Any questions the worker had were immediately forgotten as the worker gasped.

"The poor thing… She must be traumatized." The woman quickly left to perform her duties elsewhere. However, the two adventurers could only stare at her in slight envy.

"Things would be fine if that were the case…" Akira sighed as he began removing the lid of the coffin. "But unfortunately…"

The lid now removed, her friends could now see Sayori Matsu had a lovesick gaze in her eyes. "Oh, you guys… You should have seen his face as he fired at me. It was so enchanting…" The girl began to mumble incoherently as her two friends facepalmed.

"Unfortunately… She's like… this," Ann finished, an embarrassed frown stuck to her face.

* * *

"Well that was fun," Rhiannon said as she closed the lid on her laptop. "Now there's just one thing left we have to do.

Dewitt and Rhiannon both looked at a corner of the room, as if facing into the lens of an invisible camera.

"Well, let's get one question out of the way first," Rhiannon took a flashcard out of her pocket.

"You printed 'em on flashcards?"

"Yeah, why not? Anyway, onto the question. This one is so commonly asked that we might as well answer it here. AsouShibata wants to know if we will ever mention the Shadow version of Sayori's friends again. I suppose that's rather unclear to us. Isn't it?"

"I mean, there's no real story reason for them to show up again. We'll just have to see."

"Though I'll probably have them be mentioned again, just because it makes sense," Rhiannon flipped the flashcard over. "Oh boy, Recovery-one's question is pretty good!"

"Aw, man. I love that guy."

"Firstly, the dude wants to know what our favorite scene is to write," Rhiannon thought for a moment. "Well, I really do love to write all of the chemistry scenes between Goro and Sayori, as well as the rest of the cast. They're the most fun for me. Not to mention any time I get to make a reference to something else brightens my day. Dewitt, you answer too!"

"Hmm… well… I suppose my favorite parts to write are the bits with Mai. She's a total grump, which makes her pretty easy for me to write. Plus, I love her character. She's a loveable moron in a world full of pretty smart people, as well as magical powers and stuff. She has no idea what's going on, and her reactions are always fun to write because of that."

"Oh yeah, Mai's really fun. Who would have ever guessed she was named after the goth chick in Avatar The Last Airbender?" Rhiannon added on with a laugh. "That's totally the only thing special about her… Anyway, moving on. Recovery-one also wants to know how our writing process works, and how we collaborate. This is a bit of a two-parter between how we used to do things, and how we'll do things from now on. Dewitt, you mind starting?"

"Well, we used to just take turns weekly. We'd discuss the chapter every week, then write it over the course of said week, taking turns with writing duties. She'd write a chapter, then I'd write a chapter. But, as it turns out, Rhiannon is more of a fan of writing than I am. Frankly, I only did it to make her happy. So, I've decided to become an editor only. I do still write the Mai sections, though."

"Yeah, last week was your last full chapter, wasn't it?" Rhiannon said wistfully. "Well, I'll be able to handle it. It's better preparations for the sequels I will definitely want to write." The girl rubbed her hands together in eagerness. "Oh wait, maybe I shouldn't say that? Eh, whatever." She placed her hands on her lap and exhaled. "Well, that was fun, wasn't it?"

"I have to admit, it was pretty fun. You don't get to see these characters in such oddball situations often. I enjoyed myself."

"I'm glad. Well, then, I'll be on my way. Things to do, people to see, Noblesse to read."

"Of course."

"Anyway, bye!" Rhiannon smiled as she headed for the door. Dewitt sat on his couch as she left, reflecting on his actions that day. He decided that he needed to speak up.

"Hey, Rhiannon?" He called out, looking over at the door while standing up.

"Yeah?" She replied, poking her head back through the door.

Dewitt walked towards the door, hands in his pockets. He saw Rhiannon, bathed in the soft light of his front porch. "I know I'm a grump, but… I really had fun today. I mean it. It was nice spending time with you."

Rhiannon smiled in response. "Oh, I know. Despite your grumpiness, you were obviously having a good time."

Dewitt managed his second smile of the evening. "Heh. I guess. I'll see you tomorrow, like usual?"

"Always. Five PM, on the dot, every day. You know me."

"Good. Well, don't let me keep you. See you tomorrow."

"See you."

He shut the door as she turned around. He couldn't wait for tomorrow.

 **I hope you all like this chapter. Enjoy your week! Please read, review, and I'll see you all next time!**


	28. Chapter 26

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

Sayori gave Mai one last smile as she prepared to leave the library. The librarian smiled back before gesturing to Makoto, asking a silent question. The student council president was preparing to leave, and Mai was not blind to the fact that it was at the same time Sayori was preparing to leave. However, the pink haired girl gave an assuring wave of the hand, before turning away and exiting through the door.

Makoto's visit had shocked both of them. Still, the sudden arrival had also left confusion in Sayori, especially when the student council president stuck around, chatting as if they were lifelong friends. Sayori had decided to play along, knowing the real reason Makoto wanted to see her for had to wait until they weren't in the presence of prying ears. However, Sayori was determined to not let that interfere with her day.

"Sayori, could I speak with you for a moment?" Makoto asked as she fell in step beside the girl.

"Sure, though if it concerns 'you know what,' then you should probably wait until our next team meeting," Sayori spoke idly. She had a short pause in her step, turning to wave at a couple of friendly students. "Have a good day!"

"No. It's nothing to do with that, really. I guess it's just an embarrassing thing to ask," Makoto replied sheepishly. Slowing her own pace, she made the sure Sayori could still keep up. Afterall, the girl was pausing to speak talk to other students every few steps. Makoto couldn't help but feel a slight envy for the talent Sayori possessed in that regard.

"Go for it," Sayori said with a reassuring smile.

"Well, you already heard the things I admitted to Ann, all those rumors," Makoto began. "I was already having a bit of trouble communicating with my peers before. Now, it's gotten even worse."

"You know that stuff with Kamoshida wasn't your fault. He had a pretty tight grip on everybody," Sayori responded, attempting to stay reassuring.

"I realize that, and I also realize that it's a similar situation with Kaneshiro. But still, none of our classmates have realized that," Makoto said with remorse. "They all feel like there's something I could have done, and now that I've failed to provide that thing that they need, they don't really view me in the same light anymore."

"I thought you weren't going to worry about meeting high expectations anymore," Sayori responded. "Even so, I'm not worrying myself with something like that either. I'm probably the wrong girl to ask when it comes to restoring reputations."

"It's true that I'm not going to trouble myself with those things, at least not as much as before. However, you're wrong about being the wrong person to ask," Makoto now had a determined look in her eye. "When we fix this mess with Kaneshiro, things are going to return mostly back to normal. But one thing is going to remain the same… I'm still going to have a strained relationship with our peers."

Sayori tilted her head in confusion. "How exactly can I help with that?"

"I was wondering… could you help me fix that? Even though you barely even talk to anybody outside of your friend group, it's easy to tell that those around you are comforted in your presence… Also, you should know that everyone in the school knows your name," Makoto responded, shocking the girl.

"How did that happen?"

"The same way it happened with Akira, I suppose. Though I think people consider you less of a delinquent, and more of a mystery. That's besides the point, though. What I'm trying to ask is, will you help me reach out to my classmates?" Makoto asked. "It would be easier to stop thinking of myself as useless if I know that there are people who feel like they can count on me, without putting pressure on me like the adults all did."

Sayori smiled kindly in response. "Of course! I get it now… Don't worry, Makoto! I will teach you everything you need to know. By the end of our escapades in these coming weeks, you'll be waving and giving out high fives like you're the star of a parade!"

"Actually, I was just hoping you could do the talking for me…" Makoto replied awkwardly. "Like, I'd say one thing, and you would say it to everyone else, and vice versa."

"Nonsense! I'll even make you a little rhyme to help you remember your lesson," Sayori offered.

"Okay. I guess that works, too."

"Great." Finally reaching the entrance, Sayori was about to say goodbye to the student council president, when another thought struck her. "By the way, why did you feel like I should know that everyone knows my name?"

"Oh… Because in the past five minutes, I counted at least three boys staring at you in a rather uncomfortable way."

" _What?!"_

* * *

In his apartment, Goro Akechi shuddered slightly. Looking up from a pile of information on his newest case, he glared at empty space.

"Why do I feel like I'm about to be very annoyed, and more than likely upset?"

When nothing responded back, he shook off the uncomfortable feeling. He had work to do, after all.

* * *

" _I'll have to talk more about that stuff with Makoto later, maybe I'll bring Ann along too. It might be nice to have a talk just between us girls_ ," Sayori thought to herself as she walked to the hideout. The group had a very ambitious goal to complete as much of the Palace as possible. While Sayori trusted that their confidence was well deserved, she was mentally preparing herself to be exhausted.

The rest of the group was already waiting for her when she got there. Sayori blushed in embarrassment. The girl had payed a brief visit to the apartment, making sure that Goro knew she had a "club meeting." Hopefully it didn't sound too unreasonable when she explained that it may be a few hours.

"You're just in time, Sayori," Akira spoke quietly. "Meet your new classmate." He gestured at Makoto, confusing both girls immensely.

"Classmate? In what?" Sayori asked.

"The art of Phantom Thievery. You girls are both still learning about this stuff," Akira explained.

"In a sense, aren't we all still learning about that?" Yusuke pondered, causing Akira to sweat.

"Th-that's true… But still-"

"Let's not get too off topic," Makoto cut in.

"We should infiltrate Kaneshiro's palace and begin the heist," Morgana agreed.

"Yeah, let's go," Sayori said, but soon something occurred to her.. "Did you guys discuss anything important while I wasn't here?"

"Not much that you can't worry about later," Ryuji replied.

"The only thing you should know right now is that we have eighteen days to steal Kaneshiro's heart," Ann helpfully explained. "That's plenty of time though. Especially since we plan on getting as far as we can today."

"With that said, we should get going," Morgana said. The others all nodded in agreement. Soon enough, the subway was rippling like a piece of fabric in the wind. The Phantom Thieves of Hearts had begun their new mission.

* * *

" _Queen is rather scary on the battlefield_ ," Valiant thought to herself. This was one of the many times she would be glad to have the job of offering defense. Watching their newest member on the battlefield was rather intimidating. The way Queen crushed her enemies made Valiant thankful she was no longer someone in need of a change of heart.

"Valiant, the enemy is going to strike soon. Raise the defense!" Queen commanded. Sayori complied, making sure everyone was prepared to dodge the strike with her own abilities. After double checking that Panther was sufficiently out of enemy reach, Valiant hopped back to her position and raised her own shield. The guard dog's attack hardly reached its mark, let alone did any damage. Makoto gave the final strike, shouting "Fist of Justice!" As she did so.

"That was so easy. It was like disciplining a misbehaving pet with a rolled-up newspaper," Sayori commented, wanting to see what everyone thought.

"Uh, might wanna leave the clever quips to us, Valiant," Morgana replied with a cheeky smile.

The noble thief pouted. "You guys are so mean."

* * *

After bypassing several different security measures, riding on top of an elevator, and defeating a stupid amount of shadows, the group was finally starting to make it down to the lower floors. Kaneshiro's greed was much more suffocating down here.

Joker smashed yet another vase, a shattering sound echoing down the long hallway. Valiant couldn't help but cringe. " _Seriously, how does nobody hear this?"_ However, that question would have to wait until another time, as the thieves were already moving. Going down a few staircases, the group noticed a surprising sight. Kaneshiro was talking to one of his guards by the elevator. From their earlier encounters with the shadows, it was easy to tell that this one would be tough to beat. The yellow uniform gave it away.

Walking up to the pair, Queen was quick to make their presence known. "Kaneshiro!" she shouted angrily.

The purple man turned in shock, a vein bulging on his forehead. "Y-You bastards… How did you get this far? What about my security!?" Valiant almost laughed. He seemed so surprised, yet there really was no reason to be.

"Sorry, that shit was a piece of cake for us!" Skull replied, the serious frown on his face saying he clearly wasn't sorry at all.

"Well, I wouldn't say it was that simple," Fox replied honestly.

Still, it was very clear that Kaneshiro was already on edge. "H-Hey, finish off these vermin here! Keep them away from the elevator at all costs!"

" _Yes, because one guard is too much for us, even though we defeated two just like it not that long ago_ ," Valiant thought confidently. It only made sense that they would be able to defeat this one just as easily. Giving her shield a quick inspection, the girl prepared to offer as much defense as possible.

* * *

"Where is Kaneshiro?!" Queen exclaimed after the battle. The greedy man had disappeared from sight, as the elevator shut behind him.

Skull growled. "He took off while we were busy fightin'."

"It's alright, Queen. We don't really need to face him right now, anyway," Valiant responded thoughtfully. "Besides, the less time I have to look at his ugly mug, the better."

Yusuke then noticed something on the ground. Picking it up, he began to closely inspect it. "While that is a fair point, his hurry to leave did us a small favor… Kaneshiro left this behind." The others all walked over to see what Fox was referring to. "It's a journal. Let us see what lies inside…" The blue haired thief said, opening the book and flipping to the only intact page.

Peeking around the tall boy, Valiant frowned. "With all of the technology in this place, I would at least think Kaneshiro would have a lock on a possibly important book."

"Not like we can't just break the lock anyway," Skull replied.

"True. I wonder what the code might be for?" Valiant wondered.

"Let's get on the elevator and find out," Mona replied enthusiastically.

* * *

"All of this running around for different codes. I hope whatever this treasure is, that it will be worth all of the effort," Valiant commented. "It would be disappointing if all we got out of this was an empty credit card or something."

"Well, making sure we don't spend the rest of our lives in debt or in prison is worth the effort," Akira replied. "Either way, we'll go out to celebrate after this."

"We've finally secured our route to the treasure," Morgana exclaimed happily. "Let's get out of here and start planning our calling card!"

"It will be quite interesting to see what we come up with," Fox agreed.

 **Sorry for the late update, folks. As you may know, there were problems with the site that prevented me from logging on and posting. Thankfully it's back on now, so here you go. I hope you enjoy the chapter. Please read, review, and I'll see you next time!**


	29. Chapter 27

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

The Phantom Thieves met up the next day, ready to figure out exactly how they were going to send the calling card. Sayori had to admit she was rather nervous. They were all going to be really busy now, and she wasn't sure she was quite ready yet. Still, they had to keep moving forward. What was the point, otherwise?

At the meeting, Makoto was the first to speak. "All that's left is the calling card, right? We should send it out at once."

"I would agree, but it will not be an easy task this time," Yusuke said, looking down with a troubled expression.

"Yeah, nobody actually knows him…" Ann trailed off.

"I guess we should send out the calling card…" Ryuji muttered.

"Now the question is, how do we deliver the calling card to him?" Yusuke asked.

"Yeah, we don't know where he lives…" Ann began.

Makoto felt it was her time to make a suggestion, as nobody else had any ideas. "Why not use the same method as before?"

Sayori felt confused. "Before? Didn't we just say that we shouldn't do that?"

"No, that's not what I meant. You'll find out later. Ryuji needs to come with me to do it though…" Makoto trailed off. "Sayori, now that I think about it, I might have use for your creative mind as well. Can you come along?"

Everyone looked confused, but nevertheless decided to follow the student council president's advice. Honestly, after witnessing her skill in the Metaverse, they were all too frightened to find out what would happen if they didn't. The thieves departed for the day, while Makoto dragged Sayori and Ryuji with her.

* * *

"You got home late last night. Did anything happen that I should know about?" Goro asked the next morning. Exiting the kitchen, he brought a small bowl of cereal over to her. "I think it might be time to go food shopping again. I've been so preoccupied lately."

Sayori nodded in acknowledgment to his last comment. "I'm sorry for staying out so late. I had to make sure of something at the… Gardening Club." The girl looked down shyly before she began to eat her food. Her nervousness outweighed her hunger, but she knew that if she didn't eat now she would regret it later. Afterall, she needed all of her strength for the heist.

"It's not a problem. Just try to be more mindful of it in the future," the detective replied, picking up the remote. As he began flipping through channels to the news, he noticed out of the corner of his eye Sayori slightly perk up, as a happy blush began to spread across her face. Silently admitting to himself that it was rather cute, Goro also couldn't help but wonder why she was so happy all of a sudden. That is, until he stopped on the news channel.

" _It seems that once again the Phantom Thieves have left their mark. Calling cards have appeared all across Shibuya. They're everywhere!"_ The camera zoomed away from the reporter to show the walls of Shibuya covered in the Phantom Thieves' latest stunt. Goro's hands began to tremble as he noticed the target's name at the bottom of the screen. _Junya Kaneshiro… Sayori, what did you do?_

As the news continued to cover the crime lord's calling card, Sayori's smile seemed to grow even larger. "I've heard a few rumors going around school. Apparently a lot of my classmates have been coerced out of a lot of money. From the description on the card, this is probably the guy. I'm glad he's going to be taken care of. I don't know what I'd do if something like that happened to us." The girl traced circles on the rug with her index finger, looking down with a smaller smile now.

That statement was enough to make her roommate's heart feel as if it had stopped. _Sayori, is that what happened?!_ Goro forced himself to remain calm, even though on the inside, he wanted to throw a chair out the window, and probably pull his hair out for good measure. If he had known about this earlier… _Kaneshiro, you dumbass!_

How could such a pathetic waste of space in this stupid operation make such a horrible error? _Targeting the roommate of your boss's number one hitman..._ _Good informants, my ass!_ The detective continued to silently brood. There was no doubt he was going to receive yet another phone call… Though what exactly would he need to do this time? Would he need to go as far as to perform a hit on Kaneshiro?

Akechi's swarming thoughts distracted him. This was why he didn't notice Sayori until she had to resort to pinching. "Ow! What was that for?"

"I'm sorry. You were just really quiet for a second there. I wanted you to know that I'm going to go ahead and get to school. I can get groceries on my way home today, if you want." The girl's kind smile that normally was enough to melt the thick layer of ice in his heart had lost its effect.

"Yeah. Do what you feel is necessary," The detective hid his rather somber expression behind a layer of hair.

Sayori noticed the change in demeanor. She wondered what it meant. _He's probably just grumpy that the Phantom Thieves got to bring Kaneshiro to justice first._ Nodding in assurance to herself, the girl was about to head for the door when another thought struck her. "Hey, Goro?"

"What is it?"

Before Akechi could really process what was going on, Sayori was holding him in a tight hug. "I don't think I've said this enough lately. I'm really grateful for all that you've done for me. I honestly don't know what I'd do without you. Thank you."

Goro Akechi once again felt stunned. It finally occurred to him why Sayori wouldn't tell him about what had happened with Kaneshiro. The answer was enough to make his heart feel a bit lighter. Hugging her back just as tightly, he swallowed the lump forming in his throat. "Be careful today, Sayori."

* * *

Although Sayori knew that Goro thought she wasn't a Phantom Thief, she liked to think that his last words for her today were for the heist. She practically ran to school with that thought in her heart. She couldn't wait to get started. _Don't worry, Goro Akechi. It doesn't matter how scared or useless I feel right now. I'll happily do this for you!_

* * *

"The calling card's been posted all over Shibuya," Morgana began. Despite everyone else's relaxed demeanor, Sayori could sense the tension that sentence had created. It was now or never. Just as predicted, seeds of doubt were beginning to form in her stomach, but she chose to be numb to them.

"A good idea, no?" Makoto inquired, seeming quite sure of herself. The idea was in fact genius, and Sayori knew that Makoto was being modest. "Given the theatrical nature of this one, Kaneshiro must surely have been contacted about it."

"You truly are the brains of the Phantom Thieves operation! Ryuji, you should follow her example!" Morgana exclaimed.

"Y'know, I'm the one who went postin' it everywhere, right!?" Ryugi shot back. "I even had to get all dressed up so they wouldn't notice me!"

"Guys, don't fight! I'm nervous enough as it is!" Sayori whined. Despite her stubbornness, the more they talked, the more shot her nerves became.

"We don't have time for this," Makoto muttered. "You two, listen to Sayori's advice and kindly stop speaking. Let us get moving."

"We're going up against a truly horrible criminal this time…" Ann added. "We can't have tension make our valiant defense sick with nerves."

Ryuji had a look of determination on his face. "You got that right! That dick ain't gonna stop us now that we have two awesome new members!" Looking at the said members, he made sure to confirm one last thing, "You two remember how all of this looks?"

"Well, I mean I've already witnessed it. Why wouldn't I remember?" Sayori asked, a confident smile appearing on her face.

"Once we steal the treasure, the Palace will crumble and the Palace ruler's heart will change," Makoto confirmed.

"Wow, you got that quick! I think Ryuji's still struggling to comprehend it all," Morgana began.

"Don't you dare! What did we literally just say?!" Ann asked, an angry expression on her face.

The cat looked shocked, before looking down in slight shame. "Sorry, Lady Ann."

"Anyway," Makoto began, choosing to ignore the blossoming argument. "As I was about to say… Evil adults are nothing more than garbage, and I am no better… I will resolve this, I swear it!"

"Yeah, let's go!" Sayori cheered, happy to move on from the fighting as well.

"Sounds like you both are fired up," Morgana commented. "All right, Joker! Give us the signal!"

"Let's do this," Akira agreed. Opening the app, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts triumphantly entered the Metaverse, ready to take on their target.

* * *

"Is that Kaneshiro!?" Queen asked. The group had only just entered the Vault, and already they had found a troubling new obstacle. Remembering what happened last time, Valiant got out her shield, preparing for the worst.

"He was waitin' for us!" Skull exclaimed. The group knew there was no getting around it. They all ran to meet with their foe, hopefully for the last time.

* * *

"A safe!? This wasn't here the last time we came!" Mona exclaimed. The giant metal door's combination keys were swivelling around at a tremendously fast way. How would they get to the treasure without serious injury?

"He changed the entire room so quickly…" The cat creature stated, shocked. "I guess this Palace isn't a bank for nothing."

The group looked as Shadow Kaneshiro stepped up to meet them. The confident look on his face made them all grit their teeth. "Greetings," he spoke. "Welcome to my private city bank." Three Shadows that looked like his lackeys in the real world stepped up beside him. "I'm surprised you made it here alive. It seems you are quite lucky."

"Lucky? Don't be ridiculous," Queen replied. Valiant nodded in agreement. It was skill that had gotten them this far.

"We're gonna change your heart and make you confess everything you've done," Skull cockily warned. "That'll save all those people who're suffering 'cause of your shitty actions. Even the police are strugglin' to deal with you, so this'll make the public believe in us too!"

"Those in power work the ones below them to the bone for money. Such is the hierarchy of the world," Kaneshiro stated. It probably sounded like a logical fact to him. The Phantom Thieves were disgusted. "Just accept your fate as a source of my wealth!" He exclaimed, an enraged expression finally revealing itself on his face.

"We'll never agree to that!" Fox answered angrily.

"And hierarchy? You have to be out of your mind," Panther added.

"All of that was forced on me too, you know!? I went through shit until I crawled my way out of the dregs! Now it's my turn to profit on everyone else!" Kaneshiro Thieve's felt their skin crawl.

"Still! Don't you think you're getting back at the wrong people?" Panther asked. Not that it really mattered what he thought right now. Either way, his heart was about to be stolen.

"What a pitiful man," Queen commented. Valiant cringed. Alarms went off in her head that told her that was the wrong thing to say.

"It doesn't matter whether you're clean or dirty! Only the clever come out on top!" Shadow Kaneshiro became more defensive. "The strong and the smart devour the weak. That is the natural order of things. You damn brats who think you know the world through the shit you read online will make perfect prey."

"He is utterly hopeless," Queen remarked.

Valiant began to tune the wicked man out. He was saying a lot of things about fools, but the only fool here was him. She had to agree that he was a rather hopeless hypocrite.

"Will you just shut it already!?" Skull interrupted the tirade. Valiant nodded happily. She felt herself getting dumber every time Kaneshiro opened his mouth.

"I guess there's not much point saying anything to you fools!" Kaneshiro exclaimed for the hundredth time. "This is where my gracious lecture ends. Now then, I hope you're ready to work as slaves here for the rest of your lives."

"That's outrageous!" Fox dismissed.

"Yeah, everything that comes out of your mouth is so ridiculous. Your stupid web of foolishness and lies is about to be destroyed," Valiant exclaimed. She had to admit she was proud of herself fore coming up with that one.

Shadow Kaneshiro only snickered. "I'm gonna swarm all over you… and squeeze out every last penny!" The man then went through a horrifying transformation. Everyone looked in confusion and alarm as he rubbed his hands together and made horrifying buzzing noises. He coughed up black ooze as wings sprouted out of his back. His associates all screamed and ran away.

When he looked up, revealing his now bug like eyes, Valiant wanted to kick herself. _He's a fly. Of course I had to make a spider metaphor about him. That's my fault for giving him too much credit._

"I can take care of this myself. Wassup yo!? Now come get some!" The ugly man exclaimed.

Valiant cringed, reminded of a quote from her book. _It's like his mouth is making sounds, but no words are coming out._

"You filthy fly on dirty money… Get the hell out of my face!" Queen made a swatting gesture, revving up her bike.

Shadow Kaneshiro just laughed maniacally. "Aight, here we go, yeh pieces of shit!"

* * *

The fight from there was a strange mixture of terrifying, frustrating, and ridiculous. Valiant did her best to offer support, determined to take the crook down. It had always been a strange feeling, having a Persona, but the energy she felt at that moment was especially electrifying. The noble thief wondered if her teammates always felt like this during an especially hard battle.

"This fly is so hard to swat," Valiant muttered, raising her shield as she did her best to dodge his volleys of shots.

"Now you're getting the hang of it," Mona exclaimed, boosting her health as a reward.

Valiant felt herself smile back at the cat creature, only for her expression to drop when she felt something in the air. Looking at the humanoid fly, her eyes widened when she noticed a grin on his face. Was he planning something? The disgusting thing was eyeing both her and Queen.

It was then that the fly finally launched his own attack. A swirling purple mass then came out of the Shadow, inflicting both girls with an uncontrollable fear. Valiant kneeled down, her breaths coming in short gasps. She was pumped up on adrenaline in the worst way possible. Distantly, she also heard Queen going through the same thing, mumbling about her own fears that they would not succeed.

She felt Fox begin to shake her, trying to get her to snap out of it, but Sayori already felt that she was on a completely different plane. _What am I even doing here? I want to go home!_ But which home did she even want to go to now? _I'm never going to go home. I'm going to die here…_

Her thoughts were blending together into one massive feeling of panic and unstableness. She was going to let everyone down. _I can't do this… I just want to get home… I just want everyone to…_

" _I'm going to help you guys out!"_ Out of the void came a different voice, yet it was strikingly familiar. Sayori let out a small unnoticeable gasp. This was the voice that was inside of her all along. Yet again, Psyche was speaking to her. The girl didn't know what was going on, so she continued to listen as the world around her faded in and out.

" _After all of these long years… Thank you for raising me up. I won't be a hesitant coward anymore… "_ Sayori felt a familiar feeling rise up inside of her. By hearing her inner voice talking, perhaps to someone else, the girl was overwhelmed with feelings of companionship and love.

" _It's really a funny thing. Being around you made me realize something I knew all along…"_ Psyche sounded normal now, older somehow. Sayori wondered what memory she was peeking in on. What was she being shown? However, the desired effect had obviously happened, as Sayori immediately felt the fear wear off. Her vision cleared, and she found herself looking up at Yusuke's worried face.

"Valiant, are you alright?" he asked, staring up at something behind her. Sayori followed his unmasked gaze, and found a ridiculous sight. Shadow Kaneshiro now seemed to be break dancing on top of a giant robot piggy bank.

"Yeah. I'm fine, Fox." The girl reached up to push her hair away from her face, only to notice something off. "Where'd my mask go?"

"I have it right here," The artist held up her mask. 'It fell off when Kaneshiro hit you. Your persona has been acting rather strange while you were out. Thankfully, Panther took some of your place."

Valiant quietly put her mask back on, noticing that Queen was still in action. Obviously, her fear had worn off earlier. "Did I miss anything important?"

"Not really. Just the unveiling of that ridiculous monstrosity." Fox looked in disgust at the robot that had recently taken a bit of damage. "I got so abhorred looking at it that I needed to look at something else for a little while. I never noticed, but compared to most things in this bank, your mask is rather intricate."

"Um, thank you," Valiant got back on her feet. "We should get back to the battle."

"Indeed."

The two ran back, Valiant landing a large hit on the robot's metallic surface. It was then that she noticed a slight increase in her strength. Ripping her mask off, raising her shield, the electricity in the air almost overwhelmed her. It was hard to say whether she should call it her persona's power, or her own power. All she knew was that it was exhilarating.

Watching proudly as Akira finally landed the finishing strike, Valiant felt the victory in her heart. _I shall be your sword and shield, my friends, supporting you until the end._

* * *

"We're gonna do something about that distorted heart of yours… Free of charge," Ryuji proclaimed.

Shadow Kaneshiro was sat upon a stack of massive gold bricks, as his massive pig machine was destroyed. "Seriously? You guys don't have any tact. Especially with that incredible power… These palaces could net you loads of cash! You could do whatever you wanted to people's hearts!" exclaimed Kaneshiro, with a legitimate sense of disbelief.

"We're not like you!" shouted Ryuji.

"Where do you find meaning in that naive sense of justice…? You know, there's already someone out there taking full advantage of what Palaces have to offer…" Kaneshiro said, grinning.

The team were all puzzled, but Sayori in particular started to get worried. There was only one other person she knew with the ability to enter Palaces.

"I'll let you in on a little something…" said Shadow Kaneshiro, looking up at the thieves. "There's a criminal using other people's Palaces to accomplish whatever they damn well please. They don't care about consequences. Psychotic breakdowns, mental shutdowns… Anything goes."

"Is that… the same person Madarame's Shadow spoke of…? The man in the black mask?" inquired Yusuke.

"Spill it! Who're you talkin' about!?" shouted Ryuji, agitated.

Shadow Kaneshiro chuckled. "Don't even bother. You are nothing compared to them… Better be careful… A chance encounter with them could prove fatal…" Shadow Kaneshiro faded away with one last grin, in a flash of rainbow light.

"We can think about that later! Grab the Treasure; there's no time!" shouted Yusuke. The team jumped into action. However, Sayori's panic only rose from this point onward. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense.

 _Could it really be… Goro!?_

 **I hope I did that right. I probably have no idea how Personas work, but I've seen people do similar things in other fanfics. So if you want something to blame, blame my laziness to not just wiki something. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this week's chapter. Please read, review, and I'll see you all next time.**


	30. Chapter 28

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

The group of successful thieves all sat at Akira's bedroom table, studying their obtained loot. While almost everyone investigated the lock on the gold briefcase, Ann and Sayori were busy patching Morgana up. However, they weren't doing the best job, as both the cat and blonde girl noticed the normally cheerful poet seemed preoccupied.

"No, Sayori. Don't move him to the left side of the _table_ , shift him so I can see his _left side_!" Ann tried to explain, moving to apply antiseptic to the cat's scrapes. Poor Morgana released a pained cry as Sayori suddenly rushed to follow instructions, causing the chain reaction of Ann's hands slipping, spilling the bottle of fluids all over the table.

"If I were an actual cat with less self control, I would have scratched you by now, Sayori," Morgana warned, wincing at his wounds. He moved to lick at them, only for Ann to jerk his head away.

"I'm sorry… I guess I've got a lot on my mind right now," Sayori began to apologize, only for Ann to wave her hand in dismissal.

"It's fine. Just go get napkins from downstairs so we can clean this up," The blonde model went back to patching the cat creature up. Although her attention was no longer on Sayori, the pink-haired girl nodded. Getting up, the girl quietly left the room, her face red from embarrassment.

Retreating down the stairs, Sayori could only remember to be thankful that the cafe owner wasn't here. If he saw the gold case they brought with them, he would have questions none of them would be prepared to answer. This thought was a helpful distraction from the worry that had nagged at her since retreating from Kaneshiro's crumbling Palace. What was she going to do if Goro really was- _Ugh! Stop thinking about your stupid theory!_ Sayori internally chastised herself. _Just grab the stupid napkins, celebrate your stupid victory with the stupid treasure, and get some stupid sleep!_

Noticing a napkin dispenser at one of the cafe tables, Sayori grabbed a handful and headed back upstairs. On the way up, she heard several sounds of alarm. "Children's Bank!?" Ann shouted. Feeling very confused, Sayori hurried the rest of the way up the stairs. What was going on?

Just as she got to the top, Ryuji moaned in despair, and Sayori noticed the golden briefcase was open. Going back to her previous spot, Sayori began wiping at her mess. "Sounds like I missed something," she remarked.

"You bet you did! Look at what we wasted so much time to get!" Ann threw a stack of money towards the girl, who was surprised when she actually managed to catch it. _My nerves must be pretty wired to have reflexes for once_ , Sayori quietly thought to herself, examining the money. The paper at first glance might have looked real, but the picture of Shadow Kaneshiro on the front immediately disproved its credibility.

"Look on the brightside, guys! We have plenty of Monopoly Money for future game nights," Sayori suggested, waving the money in the air.

"You're out of your mind if you think I'm playin' board games with you again, Sayori," Ryuji grumbled. Obviously, his bitter loss at Candyland still left a bad taste in his mouth. "You're even more insane if you think we'd play that game with this asshole's face on the money."

"You have a point," Sayori agreed, getting up to dispose of her napkins.

"Well hey, at least it feel like we totes busted this case, right?" Ann asked, suddenly chipper. Sayori couldn't help but cringe at her choice of words.

"What do you mean?" Makoto asked, obviously not able to translate the model's mysterious language. "Is busting a case good or bad?"

"Both!" Ann exclaimed, as if it made perfect sense. Makoto considered the answer for a moment, and suddenly began to laugh. Sayori was beginning to wonder if her female comrades were coming down with something.

"To think the reward for the Phantom Thieves is feeling they 'totes busted' the case…" Makoto remarked. "How funny!" The student council president remarked.

"That reminds me… Makoto, what's your first act going to be as a lady free from debt?" Sayori asked curiously. "Considering there's no use for this fake money, I'm thinking we buy a really good paper shredder, and turn that into a party."

"Hold on second," Yusuke suddenly said. "Even though the contents were nothing more than trash, the case itself is quite nice."

"All right then, let's sell it! Glad we got that sorted!" Ryuji exclaimed, clearly relieved.

Sayori nodded, retrieving the waste basket in the corner of the room. As she started to dispose of the play money, she couldn't help but listen fondly to her friends. Despite what some others thought, Sayori wasn't stupid. Going home would probably be a real burden for her. The only way she could think of to sleep peacefully at night would be to have her worries disproven. _But how exactly can I go about that?_

Sayori became so lost in her thoughts that she wasn't brought out of them until Ann, as if she had read Sayori's thoughts, brought the subject up herself. "Hey, you know what Kaneshiro said at the end there? About that 'criminal' using the Metaverse…" Sayori felt her chest tighten at the new conversation topic.

"Yes, I was bothered by that as well," Yusuke remarked. Sayori felt like she was going to start panicking. She hadn't decided if she was going to tell them, at least not unless she had decided if her suspicions were correct. Was this some sort of sign from whatever cruel fourth wall breaking nonsense that she was supposed to bring it up? Sayori felt herself start to hyperventilate.

"No point mullin' over it now," Ryuji suddenly said, "Let's wait to see how Kaneshiro's change of heart goes first… Hey Sayori, you okay? You're lookin' a bit pale." The entire group looked to see Sayori holding onto the waste bucket like a lifeline, knees shaking, looking like she was going to collapse right there.

 _Okay, maybe whatever cruel fourth wall breaking nonsense there is, is just a really big jerk_ , Sayori thought angrily. Carefully setting the waste basket down, she nodded her head. "I'm fine you guys. Maybe I'm just a little under the weather."

Everyone looked at her in concern. "You should get some rest then. Exams are coming up soon, you know? You don't want to miss them because you became ill," Makoto suddenly suggested. Ann nodded, getting up to see if Sayori needed any help getting down the stairs.

Backing away slightly, the pink haired girl sadly shook her head. "Thanks for worrying, you guys. But I'm fine getting home. Save helping me, for helping me get through the tests," Sayori suddenly laughed. "I haven't even started studying yet."

"We still have a little while to study for them," Ryuji said, a relaxed expression on his face.

"Says the guy who waited until the night before, last time," Morgana remarked.

"Perhaps we can all study together, later," Akira spoke up. "For now though, everyone should go home and get some rest." With those parting words, which Sayori was sure were only because Akira wanted his room to himself again, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts parted for the day.

* * *

Sayori breathed in a shaky sigh as she finally arrived at the apartment door. At first she had wanted to go food shopping, to do anything to stall going home. However, just the act of walking had made her exhausted. Carrying plastic bags full of things that could break, or spill, or get crushed, was out of the question.

So, steeling herself, Sayori tentatively pushed open the door. "I'm h- I'm back," Sayori stumbled over her words. Sitting back on the couch, she kicked off her shoes and moaned. Goro was normally in the living room to greet her these days. Afterall, she no longer immediately went to the apartment after school, so he always made it there first. The change made Sayori start to panic a bit.

However, before she could become frantic, the detective immediately stepped out from his room with a kind smile on his face. He held up one finger, the other holding a cellphone. "I'll call you back in a little bit. It's honestly too late for this, don't you think?" Goro spoke politely. Before the person he was on the phone with had a chance to respond, the detective had already hung up.

"Sorry, Sayori," Goro took his seat next to her, not noticing the slight way she tensed up. "It was a work emergency. I got a bit side tracked." Getting out a notepad, he began writing a few things on it. "I'm sorry to say that because of that, I didn't have time to make dinner. Does takeout sound alright?"

Sayori cleared her throat, trying not to think how relieved she was that he was still there. _He wasn't gone, he hasn't done anything. He's my detective roommate, not some cruel criminal mastermind._ "Yeah, takeout is fine. I couldn't get groceries anyway," she spoke calmly, trying not to make it obvious how nervous she was. "Who were you talking to, anyway? I can't imagine they were too pleased that you hung up on them."

At that question, Sayori couldn't help but cringe at how his expression immediately darkened. However, he seemed to notice her discomfort and immediately composed himself. "It was just my boss. He and I don't really agree on most things," Goro replied, getting ready to place his order on his phone. "I was hoping that we could have finished our phone call by the time you got back, but sadly that wasn't the case. He always puts me in a bit of a bad mood, and I don't want you to have to experience that."

Sayori nodded, understanding where he was coming from. However, she still had questions that would more than likely put her roommate in a bad mood. "Was the phone call about the news this morning?"

At that, Goro seemed to physically tense. "Yeah…" he spoke softly. The detective very desperately wanted to change the subject. Taking a moment to think, he suddenly smiled. "Earlier, I began to wonder when we would start reading your next book. That might be a fun thing to do while we eat."

Sayori lightly smiled at the suggestion. She too, no longer wanted to focus on her worries. "You promise you won't read ahead?"

The detective playfully put his hand to his heart. "Scouts honor," he winked at her, and Sayori went to get the book out of her backpack. Upon doing so, she noticed something that made her laugh slightly.

"Uncross those fingers if you know what's good for you!" Dropping the book on the coffee table, the pink haired girl went behind her roommate and began to wrestle his hand from his back. The detective laughed too, lunging for the book, only for Sayori to yank on his wrist and send him back to the couch.

The book had temporarily lost their attention. Now the two were more focused on their little game. Sayori was trying to grab his wrists and pin him to the couch, while Goro was trying to get off of it. Eventually, when the detective became worried that the person delivering their food would come, get curious, and see the ridiculous display, he began to think of ways to end the play-fight.

Genius struck in the form of the bell ringing. Out of desperation, Goro went limp, and Sayori successfully put his wrists together against the couch. "Victory is sw- Oof!" Before Sayori could finish her sentence, the detective suddenly jerked forward, causing the girl to face plant onto the couch. Moving quickly, Sayori flipped herself right side up, only to find she was playing right into her roommate's trickery. He pinned her own wrists to the seat of the couch, and counted to three.

"Looks like I win," Goro said, a light smirk on his face as he went to the door to get their food.

Meanwhile, Sayori had a light blush on her face as she began to pout. _Darn! How can I make a clear headed decision about whether to trust you or not when you pull these stunts?!_ Taking a few deep breaths, trying to get the image of his brief apologetic, gentle face out of her mind, she quietly grabbed the book off of the coffee table. Just as she sat up, Goro set the bag of food on the table and sat back down.

"Let's get started," Sayori said, gently opening the book.

"Aren't you worried I'll read ahead?" Goro asked with a smirk.

Sayori rolled her eyes at her roommate. "You won, didn't you?" She gave him a fond smile and ruffled his hair. Although he complained, Sayori liked to think her roommate didn't mind when she did that. It was easier to think about these things. Her suspicions of him could be focused on later, when she was more than a few centimeters away from him.

* * *

"This method is rather intriguing, to be honest… I might have to try it," Goro said thoughtfully. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Sayori was giving him a questioning look.

"Do you really think you can catch the Phantom Thieves of Hearts with glue traps?"

The detective pretended to be thoughtful. "Well, considering what they are doing, they may be small enough for glue traps to catch. Who is to say the Phantom Thieves are human, and not some mythical creature like in your books?"

At that, Sayori couldn't help but laugh. "So you're saying you want to take elves to court?"

The detective couldn't help but chuckle as well. "I suppose it does sound strange. But it's not like I have too much to go off of, at the moment."

Sayori nodded in agreement. She yawned. Her exhaustion was finally catching up to her. Goro noticed and was about to excuse himself, only to be stopped by a tentative hand on his shoulder.

"Goro…" The girl began to lean against his shoulder.

"What is it?" the detective began to shy away, only for a sudden desire to stay freeze him in his tracks.

"How far would you go to catch the Phantom Thieves?" Sayori's exhaustion let her roommate see the completely unfiltered worry on her face.

 _But what exactly is she worried about? Is she worried for her teammates, or is this worry for my safety?_ Goro Akechi wondered, unaware that she was worried about both. Thinking carefully, he sighed. "I don't really need to go far, to be honest," he replied, looking at the girl with worry. He wasn't prepared to handle the situations that would arise in the coming weeks. If Sayori got caught, he needed to find a way to get her out of harm's way. _If he knew about this… She might get hurt, I might have to hurt her._

The detective watched as Sayori nodded, accepting the answer. Goro was about to get up, go to his own room, chastise himself for thinking he deserved this moment. Even if he did want it so desperately… Only for Sayori to grip his shoulder tightly.

"Let's stay like this for a little longer…" she suggested. "I like things like this…" Sayori's tired, pleading smile rooted him to his spot.

"I like things like this too, Sayori," Akechi replied, not liking the way his voice slightly cracked. _But they can't stay like this. I need to get you home. Before anything can go wrong. Before he finds out about you. Before you get hurt._

"Sayori…"

"Hmm?"

"No matter what happens, I need you to know something…" the detective waited for a response, only to find that Sayori had given in to sleep. Seeing her like that made him realized he was rather tired himself. Leaning his head up, looking at the ceiling, he sighed to himself. "I'll tell you later…" The detective closed his eyes tightly, trying to find enough peace to sleep. It came easier this time…

* * *

Mai, as usual, awaited her coworker's entrance at the Shujin library. It was yet another boring day on the job, spent checking out books to the few souls who bothered to walk in. After a while of twiddling her thumbs, a bored Mai watched as a red-faced Sayori walked through the door.

"Woah, woah, woah, what's with the tomato face?" shouted Mai, surprised.

"U-uh, nothing. Nothing at all," Sayori attempted to give a casual smile, failing to conceal the truth as usual.

"Yeah, totally. Come on, we got work to do," Mai said, assuming a determined stance in the process.

"What's that look about?" asked Sayori, almost condescendingly.

"This is my determination form. I'm determined to work, y'know? To please the Student Council Prez so she'll leave us alone," replied Mai.

"Y'know, you can just call her Makoto. We're kinda friends with her now, after all," corrected Sayori.

"Yeah, _you_ are. Not me though. To me, she's still just the Student Council Prez," said Mai.

"Alright, have it your way. So, where's this work we need to get done?" Sayori asked, looking around the empty room.

"I don't... know. It'll show up. I hope," Mai said, still determined.

"Well, be on the lookout, then. I've got things to do," said Sayori, reaching for a book in her backpack.

"Woah, woah, back it up there! If I'm gonna stand here and be the lookout for work, then you need to keep me awake. So, tell me what the red face is about, girl!" Mai insisted.

"Ugh… fine. I kinda… slept with Goro."

"YOU WHAT!?" shouted Mai, her face zooming in front of Sayori within a split-second of Sayori's statement.

"Wait a minute, not like that! I mean we took a nap together!"

"That's almost as bad! Goodness, here I was thinking that you were a pure and sweet sugarplum, but now you're sleeping with your roommate?"

Sayori began to get flustered at Mai's continual misunderstanding of the situation. "I must not be doing a very good job of explaining this situation to you."

"No, I get the idea. Just… be careful, alright? Boys are 99% trouble, 1% okay."

"I'm worried about that. I'm starting to feel like he might be one of the 99%."

"Then, like I said, be careful," Mai said, looking at Sayori and seeing her discomfort. "Alright, I take it back. It's more like 75% bad, 25% good."

This cheered Sayori up just a bit. "Well, I suppose that raises his odds, then. We'll just have to see," said Sayori, smiling just a tad.

"So, what else did you get up to, then?"

"Well, I robbed a bank," Sayori said, calmly.

"Really!?" shouted Mai, throwing her hands in the air in surprise.

"No! Why would you even believe that one!?" The two girls filled the library with laughter.

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll include a poem in the next chapter. I was going to do it in this one, but in the end it made more sense to wait. It's good to be back to writing slice of life stuff. Hopefully you guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it. Anyway, please read, review, and I'll see you all next time!**


	31. Chapter 29

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

A couple of days later, the group of thieves met up. This was a meeting of pure business, with one particular goal in mind. This was to make Ryuji stop procrastinating. Upon Makoto's suggestion, the group had decided to focus on their studies. Since they were meeting at Leblanc, Akira had decided to multitask. Since he had to watch the store, he wanted to study, but also practice independently with the food they served. A group of bored, studying students would be the perfect group to practice was quickly proving to be a problem though.

"Ryuji, you can't just spend the entire hour we planned to be here looking at the menu!" Ann chided, attempting to yank the cursed item out of his hands.

"I'm _studyin'_ it!" The blonde boy retorted. "And I'm not looking at any stupid book until I make my order, and get my food!"

Morgana grumbled, probably getting ready to say some insult about Ryuji, only for Sayori to hold a finger to her mouth in a gesture to be quiet. "If I hear any fighting from either of you, I'm not staying," she cut in, then glanced at Ryuji and Ann, still wrestling over the menu. "Ryuji, you have five minutes to order. If you can't decide by then, Ann will order for you. Does that seem fair to you, Ann?"

The model nodded in agreement before begrudgingly letting Ryuji have his menu back. The boy pouted as he began to scan the menu. Now that there was no more fighting or arguing, Sayori felt much more relaxed. "Akira, I've already eaten. Move on to Yusuke while I get my stuff ready."

Morgana hadn't seemed to take kindly to Sayori bossing him around. The memory of her mishap still made his skin sting. Glaring daggers at the pink-haired girl, he quietly began to grumble. "You can be a real bossy-boots sometimes, you know that?"

"I see Sayori as more of a stubborn, slightly hypocritical, pacifist at times," Yusuke corrected from his spot in the corner. Sayori quickly stuck her tongue out at the artist, before taking out a deck of her flashcards.

"I'm studying more later, at the apartment. Is it alright if I stop early? Besides, I couldn't fit all of my study materials in my bag, anyway," the poor poet explained her predicament.

The group nodded in agreement. "Make sure you take some time to study in the library then, since you usually don't have much to do in there," Makoto was quick to add. Sayori hesitantly agreed to these terms. She could already imagine how Mai might respond to that.

Akira brought everyone's food out, finally taking a seat himself. "Now that everyone is ready, let's go ahead and get started," he suggested. Ryuji's audible grumbling, and the rest of the group's confused murmuring would be the only sounds in the cafe for the next half hour.

* * *

Sayori, now completely bored of toying with her flashcards, began to look around the cafe. The TV on the other side of the room blared noiselessly having been muted while the group studied. If she remembered correctly, Goro was having an interview tonight. While she knew she didn't want to bring up her suspicions with the rest of the group just yet, maybe it would be beneficial for her to finally listen more closely to their thoughts on him. Perhaps she would realize something she hadn't before…

Slipping out of her seat, Sayori walked over and began to fiddle with the device. Once she was satisfied, and the interview had less then a minute to start, she took a comfortable seat and waited. _I suppose I'll be studying a bit more than I thought._ The rest of the group was getting quite antsy anyway. Makoto was just about to suggest a break, when the interview began.

" _And that was the follow-up report on the suspect Kaneshiro. Now, Akechi-san_ …" Everyone looked up at the TV in alarm. Sayori noticed out of the corner of her eye that Akira was shooting a slight glance of disapproval her way. She shrugged it off. Afterall, it was her duty to report on any progress the detective might make.

All eyes turned to the TV, and Sayori couldn't help but let out a sad sigh. It was obvious at this point that the Phantom Thieves hadn't taken a liking to the detective. This could have two meaning if Sayori wanted to look at it from a storytelling perspective. The possibility she feared most was that their natural disliking of him meant that her suspicions were correct, and whatever higher force dictating this game was simply sending signs that Goro couldn't be trusted.

The second possibility was the one she hoped most for. The Phantom Thieves of Hearts had made a slight error in their judgement for once, and Goro Akechi was just a gentleman detective trying to do his job. Sayori would freely admit that she had a bias when it came to these two possibilities. His treatment of her didn't mean anything when it came to his behavior anywhere else, but she wanted to pretend it did. She wanted to pretend she wasn't interrupting a story that had probably already been told hundreds of times.

In any other timeline, Sayori wasn't supposed to be here, so what she meant to him, as a friend, had no meaning to anything else that he was responsible for in this game. A simple gentleman detective wouldn't be interesting without Sayori there to add depth to his storyline. So there were probably already other things already in line to make it seem that he served a purpose to the original story.

 _But I'm here now, and it probably wasn't without purpose that I was put into a position where he and I would become friends._ Sayori wanted to hope that she was here for a purpose. The Phantom Thieves of Hearts would find out in their own time whether or not they could trust Goro Akechi. But she was not restricted like they were. She had the free will to do whatever she wanted with her information. _Perhaps this is what it means to live for myself…_

* * *

"Thank you for having me over, Akira," Sayori thanked on her way out. The group had finished studying some time ago, but Sayori had wanted to wait until the interview was finished. Afterall, Goro wasn't home, and the thought of being alone for too long with her thoughts made Sayori rather uncomfortable, especially since her roommate had banned her from using the kitchen. Somehow, she had managed to start a fire while boiling water.

"Sayori, you said you had something to give me on the way here, right? You wanted to wait until we were done studying though," Makoto reminded. Sayori smiled nervously as she remembered she had said that.

Digging in her pocket, she brought out a sheet of paper and handed it to Makoto. "The little rhyme, as promised."

 _Be Polite_

 _Except when they tease_

 _Else you get left out_

 _Please don't fight_

 _But if you do, be civilized_

 _Openly discuss your problems_

 _One friend is enough, but more is a bonus_

 _Please don't think too hard about this poem._

Makoto read the poem a few times over, noticing with rising suspicion that the poem hardly rhymed. Sayori continued to grow more and more nervous as Makoto flipped the poem sideways and read it again. Making sure her escape route was clear, Sayori didn't notice how Makoto suddenly tensed in realization.

"Sayori… is this by any chance an acrostic poem?" Makoto looked up with a glare.

The girl jumped slightly at the dangerous edge in the Student Council President's voice. "N-No. Not at all…" Sayori began to slowly back away from the confused group, only to break into a run when Makoto made eye contact with her. "Well, would you look at the time! I need to get back to the apartment!"

The Phantom Thieves of Hearts watched as Sayori retreated in terror. "Are you going to go after her?" Yusuke suddenly asked.

"Nope. I'll let her inevitable exhaustion teach her a lesson. However, I will make sure to visit the library tomorrow," Makoto replied simply.

The teens all sighed in relief, before grabbing their backpacks and heading home.

* * *

Goro Akechi was preparing to head home for the night. Packing his briefcase, he almost didn't notice his colleague walking over to him. Only when the woman tapped him on the shoulder did he bother to look up. "Niijima-san? I figured you would be home by now." The detective was rather confused.

Sae had a rather serious look on her face as she studied the teenager. "I apologize for my intrusion, but a thought occurred to me while looking over the case details about the suspect, Kaneshiro. I would like to discuss it with you."

"I would love to talk about it with you, Sae-san, but I must be leaving. I wouldn't want my roommate to starve," Goro responded with his typical friendly smile. He was about to head for the exit when Sae's next sentence froze him in place.

"Actually, it's something about your roommate I need to discuss. I'll make it as brief as I can," she quickly promised. Sae smiled in relief when Goro hesitantly turned around.

"What about Sayori would you like to discuss?" the detective asked, making sure to keep everything about himself guarded, even though he was internally panicking. _Does she suspect something?_

Sae gestured him over to two seats. Reluctantly, the pair sat down and began to talk. "When I was looking over the facts of the case, I remembered how stressed out you were when Sayori's name was on the Phantom Thieves forum. I'm sorry for forgetting to ask this sooner, but when you walked into the station a few days later, seeming as happy as ever, I assumed the post on the forum was a false alarm. Anyway, how is Sayori doing?"

"She is doing well. I still have barely made any progress on her case however… By the way, has anybody taken a look at the drive I brought in?" Goro couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed in himself. Hopefully others were having a slightly better time with the drive. Any clues it may contain had to be vital, if the odd being that had left it there for him was telling the truth.

"Sadly, nobody has been able to access its contents. However, we did find something odd about it," Sae watched as the detective looked up expectantly. "It was a good thing you only handled it with your gloves. When it was examined, it was discovered to have absolutely no sign of fingerprints, or even that somebody had used it before you did. Furthermore, we couldn't find out what brand it is…"

"So it would be impossible to figure out who bought it by tracking the record of sales," the teenager concluded. While it was hardly a surprise that this would be an issue, knowing where exactly he had gotten it, it still frustrated the detective to no end. "Thank you for telling me this, Sae-san. What else did you want to discuss?"

"Well, would you say that the fact that she does not seem depressed mean that the Phantom Thieves of Hearts have already finished their business with her. You seemed so worried before that it might actually be true that she wanted to end her own life. For that to suddenly not be a concern anymore must mean that something has happened," Sae noticed a frustrated scowl cross Goro's face.

"Well, I haven't seen Sayori receive a calling card yet, so there's no way for me to tell if that is truly what happened. Besides, while it may not be as bad as before, Sayori still has days where I'd rather just let her sleep in, instead of have her being awake and miserable," the detective sighed. Despite the sad implications of what he was saying, he couldn't help but smile. Those days she always had a pensive expression, like she was thinking too hard about something that only served to bother her. He couldn't help but wonder what concerned her so much.

"What's with the smile all of a sudden?" Sae suddenly asked from her seat.

Goro jumped slightly and looked up with a blush. "It's nothing, just something that happened a few days ago. I suppose you could say it was a time when I was seriously considering just letting her sleep… Anyway, what were you saying?"

"I suppose we are getting off topic. I'll cut to the chase…" Sae looked at the blushing teenager in rising suspicion. "I want to meet Sayori in person."

The detective seemed to choke on air as he looked at the woman in shock. "Why exactly would you want to do that?"

"It's highly likely with the fact that Sayori no longer seems depressed, and the fact that the Phantom Thieves have moved onto another target, that she has already had a change of heart. I would like to interview her to see if I can gain any clues about the Phantom Thieves methods," Sae answered matter-of-factly.

"I don't know if she would take kindly to that. She supports them, you see?" The poor detective was trying and failing to come up with a reason for Sae not to meet Sayori. The girl was so bad at lying to him… How would she handle Sae? The woman would probably turn it into an interrogation if Sayori slipped up.

"All the more reason to come talk to her," Sae responded resolutely. Clearly she wasn't taking "No" for an answer. "When can the two of us meet?" the woman asked, probably already thinking about the questions she would ask.

Goro Akechi was trying very hard not to make it look like he was trembling. He needed the time to come up with a good solution. Sayori needed enough of a headstart to prepare herself. The solution became obvious after a full minute of internal panicking, disguised by him appearing to simply ponder the question. "I will ask Sayori about it, and then get back to you, my preferences would prefer for it to be sometime during summer," he finally responded calmly.

"Thank you, Akechi-kun. I will leave you to your business then," Sae said with gratitude. Getting up from her chair, the woman left for her own home. She was completely unaware of the predicament she had left her colleague in.

The detective sighed as he grabbed his briefcase and headed out as well. _What am I going to do?_

 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, as well as the poem. Please read, review, and I'll see you all next time!**


	32. Chapter 30

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

"You look tired, Sayori. Was the Gardening Club really that exciting?" Goro asked upon arriving to the apartment that night. His first thought was that perhaps she had gone back to the Metaverse, as that always seemed to exhaust her, but this time was a bit different. Normally she didn't have as much adrenaline by the time she arrived home, but now she was panting heavily. The detective wondered if this was because she had exited the Metaverse closer to the apartment than usual. This worrying thought alone was enough to make him desperate for an answer.

"Well, sort of. I was studying with the club, and stayed a bit too long… and got worried that if I didn't go fast enough, I would be late getting back here," Sayori breathed.

The detective couldn't help but smile softly to himself. _She's getting better. That was almost believable._ "If that's the case, then how did I end up getting here after you?" He quietly went into the kitchen to get some water for them both. "I find it hard to believe that someone who hasn't had gym at all could push herself so hard."

"Well, uh…" Sayori considered how to answer. "Just because I don't have gym, doesn't mean I shouldn't still exercise. I go running around places every once in awhile with a few friends of mine." _It's less embarrassing if I don't tell him the real reason I'm like this,_ she chuckled.

Goro considered asking her to elaborate, but decided that would be too mean when she looked ready to pass out. Besides, he already had to be the bearer of bad news. It wouldn't be good for Sayori to panic too much in one day. Walking back to the couch, he set the two cups of water on the coffee table. Sayori quickly downed her cup. The detective grabbed his own before Sayori had a chance to steal it, watching in slight amusement as she looked ready to whine. "Before you start complaining, I'm going to take this chance to ask if you're feeling any better."

"I'd feel more better if I could have another cup of water," Sayori reached over in another attempt to grab his cup, only for Goro to hold it out of her reach.

"Let's not have this evolve into another wrestling match, please. Just get your own," The detective pointed the girl towards the kitchen.

" _Goro_ , you're being _mean_ …" Sayori whined. She frowned as she suddenly heard a chuckle coming from the detective. "Stop laughing at me!"

"I'm sorry," Goro attempted to hold back his laugh, but failing miserably in the end. "It's just that… Well, you're already whining like a child and I haven't even told you the news that any child would complain about." That statement got Sayori's attention. No longer interested in the drink, she once again took her seat next to the detective, looking at him intently.

"What's your news?" Sayori asked, slightly concerned.

"One of my coworkers would like to meet you," Goro explained, suddenly seeming exhausted himself. "I believe I have mentioned Sae a couple of times before, though I never thought it would be necessary to go beyond that."

"What's wrong about that?" Sayori asked, not getting the point just yet. "You and Sae are close, right? I suppose it's only natural for her to want to get to know your roommate."

"Well, it's not intended to be a friendly visit. Sae was rather blunt in saying that this was strictly professional business. I'm probably supposed to tell you otherwise, but with the way she's been starting to act lately, it would be best to warn you beforehand," the detective noticed that Sayori seemed to be recalling something.

"I know her sister from school, and I remember… overhearing something about Sae from her as well," Sayori cringed as those weird images popped into her head. It felt wrong to peek in on what was clearly an upsetting memory without permission, but this time it was slightly more helpful than she gave it credit for. "What exactly is the business she wants to see me for?"

"You remember that weird world we went to a little while ago, right?" Goro asked, watching as Sayori nodded. _Of course you would._ "I'm probably right in assuming that it has something to do with the Phantom Thieves. Furthermore, you are probably aware by now that your name was posted on the forum site for the Phantom Thieves." He sighed as Sayori hesitantly nodded to this as well. "Sae was the one who let me know about that. She wants to _interview_ you, though a more correct way of saying that would be _interrogate_."

Sayori's eyes widened in panic. She honestly didn't know how to react to this. Should she call Makoto about this? Tell all of the Phantom Thieves? Would she even have time to do that? A million panicked thoughts raced through her head, and for once Sayori let her stress show. She had a feeling she could get away with it just this once, as Goro seemed to expect that she would be scared in this kind of situation. Probably for different reasons though.

The detective shifted guiltily in his seat. _I was probably too tactless_ , he began to silently chastise himself, all while he watched Sayori attempt to calm herself down. "I managed to delay her visit, at least until summer. Afterall, you have exams coming up soon, don't you?" He took a few deep breaths as he planned his next few lines. When Sayori nodded, he offered her a charming smile, feeling guilty that this was one of his faker ones that he was offering her. "Sayori, I don't want you to worry too much about this. We still have a little bit of time. But, at the same time, there's something I need you to know…"

"What?" Sayori croaked. Her panic had worn off, replaced with the sudden urge to start crying.

"You're going to have to lie to her."

" _What?!_ " Now Sayori was shocked. Why would Goro want her to lie? If it had to do with the Phantom Thieves, he should want her to be as honest as possible.

"Sae can't know about that other world. She'll think we're both crazy if we mention it," the detective explained. "If I'm going to get you home, it would be better if I didn't lose my credibility, don't you think?"

"Y-yeah… But I don't know if I'll be able to lie very well to her. If what you and Makoto say are true, then I won't be able to handle her at all. At least not without bursting into tears and needing to excuse myself," Sayori chuckled dryly to herself. She was surprised when her roommate smiled and nodded at that.

"If that helps you to avoid telling her _complicated_ things, then by all means, go right ahead. We have a little bit of time to prepare and plan. I'm already doing so, to make sure I can chaperone," the detective explained. Sayori smiled gratefully at him, before sighing and leaning back on the couch.

"You never stop surprising me, Goro," she mumbled. "I can't wait for school to end. It will be nice to start spending more time with you…" Sayori was beginning to look tired. The detective was about to excuse himself, only for a new idea to suddenly come to both of them.

"Sayori, would you like to get sushi with me sometime this summer? We could invite Sae along, and maybe even Makoto too. It would be a nice way to begin your break," Goro offered, a smirk beginning to bloom on his face.

"I would love to. We could all dress up, and make it a big event," Sayori smiled happily. _We'll be trapped by societal convention. Sometimes the public has its perks_. They both winked at each other, their plan beginning to form. Saying goodnight, the two parted ways.

* * *

Mai stood dutifully at her post, assuming the same stance as she did the other day. It was as if she had never left. It was convenient too, as a group of students walked into her room. Sayori stood alongside them.

 _Could these be those friends she's always talking about?_

"Uh, welcome everybody! Do you want some books!?" Mai shouted.

"No, thank you. We're just here to chat," said the boy in front. His cool and collected demeanour shocked Mai. _There's no way Sayori could be friends with a guy as cool as him!_

The group sat down at one of the tables in the center. As they began to chat, Mai's curiosity got the better of her, resulting in a few loud whispers of "Sayori! Sayori!" from across the room.

Sayori, slightly embarrassed, stood up and walked over to Mai's desk. "What is it?" She asked, exhaustedly.

"Who're the cool dudes you're hanging out with? I know the Student Council President, but…"

"First of all, stop calling her Student Council President. Her name's Makoto. Second of all, the guy with the black hair is Akira, guy with the blonde hair is Ryuji, and the girl with the red tights is Ann," Sayori pointed to each of the group respectively.

"Woah… I didn't know you hung out with _that_ crowd. I thought you were just a little mouse or a wallflower or something," Mai put her hand to her chin in recollection.

"Well, I still am, kinda. I hang out with them, but not anybody else, really. Except you. And Goro. And a guy from Kosei," The girl corrected.

"Jeez, girl! You're more active than I thought. Well, don't let me keep you, I guess. I've got work to do, after all," the librarian was about to head back into her seat only for Sayori to grab her wrist.

"Uh-huh, of course you do. Say, Mai, what if I said I have work for you to do?" Sayori looked right into Mai's eyes.

"Really!?" Mai beamed.

"Yeah! It'll make Makoto like you, too!"

"Really!? What is it!?"

"While we're here, go talk to Makoto. Make friends with her. Call her by her real name, too," Sayori commanded.

"Woah… That might be a bit tough," Mai said worriedly, looking to her side just a bit.

"You never get anywhere by not trying, you know?" Sayori stubbornly pointed out.

"I guess... Fine. I'll give it a shot," Mai said, assuming her determined stance once more.

"Talk to everybody else, too. They're cool guys. I sure they'd love you."

"...That sounds nice," Mai responded, not really paying attention to her assistant anymore. She was zeroing in on her goal.

"Good."

The two girls walked over and sat with the rest of the group. The room went quiet as the teenagers watched Mai sit down.

"Uh… hi. My name's Mai," Mai said awkwardly, being surprisingly more quiet than usual.

"Sup. I'm Ryuji Sakamoto," Ryuji said cockily.

"Ann Takamaki!" Ann smiled.

"Akira Kurusu. This is Morgana," Akira greeted, gesturing towards his cat, who gave a gentle meow in response. Mai turned to the bag with a surprised look in her eyes, staying silent for several moments, until suddenly…

"You have a cat in your goddamn bag!? That's awesome!" The original Mai returned in an instant. Morgana was angry at this statement, but he decided to let it slide for now. She didn't know any better, after all.

"Uh, yeah. It's pretty cool. Aren't we supposed to be kinda quiet, though? This is a library," Akira questioned, as cool as ever.

"Eh, screw the rules. I run this place. Ain't nobody telling me what to- oh…" Mai quieted down as she realized that the Student Council President herself was sitting right next to her. "Sorry, Student Council- I mean, Makoto."

"It's alright. It's not like there's anybody else here, anyway. No worries. Anyway, gang, what are our plans for this upcoming break?" Mai's jaw was on the floor after hearing this new and improved Makoto.

"Well, the fireworks festival is coming up. That might be fun. Plus, we might be able to do some, uh, community service! Y'know, for our scholarships that we are totally going to get!" Ann said, nearly revealing the truth in the process.

"Ohhhh, you mean the Pha-" Ryuji attempted to say, before Akira slammed his palm onto his mouth.

"Yes, that, Ryuji. That is precisely the community service that we were discussing. Thank you," Akira replied, commanding Ryuji to stay silent through his words. "But before any of that _community service_ , we need to plan for the festival. When is it, Ann?"

"I think it's on the eighteenth, if I remember correctly. We'll have to get our yukatas ready!" Ann said excitedly. Sayori was left wondering if she even owned one at all anymore.

"That sounds great. Anybody else have any ideas?" Akira was met with a few shakes of the head and a few looks that described a lack of any ideas. Sayori was grumbling all the while.

"I can't go. I don't have a yukata. Plus, I don't really like fireworks. They're loud and scary," Sayori grumbled.

"Wait, ain't you the same girl who told me all about that big festival at your old school where they were gonna have 'the biggest and prettiest fireworks you've ever seen!'?" Mai innocently questioned.

"Now, when did I ever mention that?"

"When you were talkin' about how much you love Gor- oh," Mai covered her mouth, realizing the massive mistake she had just made.

Sayori was met with an onslaught of confused looks, cries of shock and girlish giggling from all sides. She felt like she was going to die.

"I 'effin knew it!" cried Ryuji, breaking the trend.

"Shut up, Ryuji! I thought you hated Goro!"

"I do! But that don't mean you do! I knew you were into him from the start. That's how it always is with roommates in anime 'n stuff. Y'all didn't even believe me!" Ryuji shouted, jumping up from his seat.

"You told them!?" cried Sayori, still in the process of dying.

"Yeah!"

"But, didn't Yusuke say he knew before you did?" Makoto asked.

"Uhm, uh… Maybe, but he said it real quiet, y'know? With his artsy voice 'n whatever. Plus, he says weird shit all the time. I bet you all didn't even believe him," Ryuji muttered, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"I did, though…" said Makoto, puzzled.

Before Ryuji could add another comment, the still giggling Ann leapt right inside of Sayori's personal space. "Oh, my, gosh! You have to come shopping with me! We have to buy you the best makeup they have at the mall! You're going to be dating this guy by the end of break, I promise!"

Akira started handing Ryuji a few thousand yen.

"You were placing bets on me!?" Sayori cried once more.

"Yeah. It seemed pretty obvious. I thought the relationship would've crashed and burned by now, though," Akira said matter-of-factly.

Sayori became unresponsive. Thought she wished for death, she was unable to die. So eventually, she stopped thinking.

Mai began to tap Sayori, who had seemingly become a stone statue in the meantime. "Guys… I think you killed her."

* * *

"I'm glad to hear your approval, Sae-san," Goro responded into the phone. "...No, Sayori just thinks this will be a friendly outing with each other, and she looks forward to it. Inviting Makoto as well sold that point rather thoroughly," he once again assured, hoping the woman was finally convinced. After a few more minutes of talking, the detective was finally able to hang up the phone.

Sighing to himself, the detective sank into a chair and yawned. He was thankful for his own foresight in taking his own exams early. Now he had the time to relax in his apartment. The excuse being detective work, of course. It also opened up time for the opportunity to answer calls Sayori was better off not hearing. Double checking his phone, Akechi groaned in annoyance. It seemed that once again those stupid bastards had forgotten that they were supposed to call him around now. _They always reserve the right to call whenever they damn well please. That's going to mess everything up one of these days._

It was probably better that way, though. While he preferred answering these calls outside of Sayori's earshot, if he was too insistent on his schedule, it might get suspicious. One could only use the excuse that he was busy with schoolwork, or getting ready for an interview, so many times, afterall. Yet at the same time, saying anything in front of Sayori that didn't sound right would ruin everything.

 _That's a mistake on my part, I suppose._ The detective glared at his phone. It was rather complicated, keeping secrets like this. Sae had agreed to keep Sayori's presence between the two of them, and Sayori claimed she only told the people she trusted about her status as his roommate. Afterall, the press would start hounding both of them if they found out. His fangirls might do something bad to Sayori if they found out about any relationship, no matter how nonexistent, between them.

 _Nothing but bullshit excuses to cover up the real reason I have to hide this,_ Akechi's fists clenched around his wretched phone. The Phansite had her name and his name together at one point. Thankfully, nobody from the organization checked the forum for that kind of thing, and the site's curator, whoever it was, had deleted it not long after the Phantom Thieves had destroyed her Palace. _But even that won't be enough to keep her a secret, and it's all my damn fault._

They probably would have mentioned it by now, if they knew Sayori lived with him. Still, there were plenty of reasons for them not to say so either. _It's all my fault…_ If she got hurt, it would be because of his own selfishness. It would be because he was seeking more than the false praise that the public gave him. He cursed his foresight now, because he was alone with his thoughts, with nothing to distract himself with, and they _still_ wouldn't call him.

 _It's all my fault…_ The day was sunny and bright outside, yet the heavy feeling in Goro's heart made it feel like it was raining. What had he been thinking? Panic settled into him, as he remembered things that he was always trying to avoid. _A yellow raincoat… bright red rubber boots… and a pink umbrella… Her pink umbrella._

His own stupidity could mean Sayori was on a radar only he should be on. Akechi tried to deny these panicked thoughts. He was only called whenever they had a new job for him. His personal life was something they never toyed with. It was only his life in the eyes of the public that anyone cared about. He and Sayori had only been close to each other in public a total of three times. He had kept a special eye on that.

 _It's all my fault…_ Yet those assuring thoughts did nothing to quell the new fears blooming. What if he was wrong? What if there was something he hadn't accounted for? What if… his mistakes caused something bad to happen? _Stomping through puddles… Getting both of them wet… Her skirt was muddy… He loved the rain…_

Perhaps going out for sushi was a bad plan then? His hand shook as he prepared to call Sae, to tell her they should come up with another idea, only for it to start ringing on its own. _Damn it_. Now they decided to call. Composing himself, he buried the thoughts and memories deep into his psyche. Any doubts the detective had weren't important. What's done is done. He refused to go back now. He… hated the rain.

* * *

The pit in Sayori's stomach grew bigger as she looked around the classroom. It was the first day of exams. She had prepared as much as she could for this. The truth of the matter was that it didn't matter whether or not she did well, but she should do her best anyway. That would be her philosophy for the next few days. _Answer the questions, get it over with, and move forward. Keep moving towards the end._

"Today is the first day of your final exams… Begin!" The teacher boomed. Sayori obeyed and began going through the questions. They were all surprisingly easy…

So why wasn't the nervous pit going away?

 **Imaginary cookies for anyone who can spot the JoJo reference! Leave a review if you can, too. Anyway, because it's that special time of year, Happy Holidays to everyone! I'll be thinking of special things my partner and I can do for the story when Winter Break rolls around for the both of us. So please read, review(if you have any ideas), and I'll see you next time!**


	33. Chapter 31

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

"Exams are finally over… I'm so exhausted…" Ann drawled at the hideout a few days later. Everyone else seemed to agree with her, except for Sayori. This was because at first glance, it looked as if she had fallen asleep standing up. Everyone decided to take that as agreement based on principle, and began to chat. After a few minutes of Phantom Thief related conversation, concluded by Akira giving a rather inspiring speech, the conversation drifted over to the subject of the festival, and more importantly, Ann's new disturbing tendencies.

"I didn't actually think you were serious when you said you were goin' to get those two together by the end of break," Ryuji remarked, as he watched Ann make sure Yusuke didn't have the chance to run away. "What's worse, you're draggin' Yusuke into your hopelessness."

"I would like to help as much as I can, it's just the place we have to go today in order to make that happen… I already don't have that much money as it is," Yusuke replied, clearly intimidated by the model's plan.

"Well, you don't have to worry, because I've taken it upon myself to pay for everything we might buy anyway. I just need your eye for beauty, alright?" Ann assured, her death grip on his wrist making it clear he couldn't say otherwise.

"All of this… over a yukata…" Makoto remarked quietly. "Did Sayori even ask Akechi if he'd like to go to the festival with her? I know you told her to, but that's no confirmation that she actually did it…"

"She told me all about it yesterday, actually," Ann began to muse. "I bet it was so romantic…"

* * *

"G-Goro?" Sayori's face was as red as a flaming strawberry as she leaned over on her adored crush. The detective instinctively took her hand in his own, throwing the book he was reading to the side, all attentions on his beloved roommate.

"What is it, Sayori?" Akechi asked intensely, a blush also starting to bloom on his face.

The two stared at each other for a very long time, much longer than required for two friends, as Sayori slowly worked up the courage to ask her roommate out. As time went on, Sayori leaned in closer to the detective's chest. Akechi himself wasn't wearing his normal public attire, and instead was wearing a white button up shirt, the top three buttons undone. (This was most likely because it was very hot in the apartment, both of them were red in the face and sweating quite a lot, afterall.)

"Would you like to go to the festival with me?" Sayori finally whispered. She refused to meet his eyes, quite afraid of rejection. Except that when she looked up, she found Akechi had gotten a rose out of nowhere.

"Sayori…" Akechi said quietly, holding her quite tightly, "I would love too."

And then the two proceeded to probably get engaged, the detective gave up on finding the Phantom Thieves, and everyone lived happily ever after.

* * *

"Isn't it so romantic?" Ann said, swooning over the thought.

"There's no way that's how it happened," Akira insisted, cynical as always. "Those two are trapped in the friendzone. The ship that would have guided them to romance crashed into an iceberg and sank to the bottom of the sea when the Titanic movie was still popular."

"Um… Ann… can you please release me?" Yusuke suddenly asked, still being held in the deranged blonde shipper's vice-like grip. He tried for another two minutes to tug his way free. At this point, the only options he had were to either give up, or chew off his wrist. Neither of those ideas seemed pleasant. However, everyone seemed to be ignoring his pleas in favor of Ann and Akira's blooming debate.

"Akira, stop being such a cynic!" Ann demanded.

"Then stop telling us your fanfiction," Akira retaliated. "At least try to look at it with reason. If those two were really that mushy with each other, either they're idiots for not realizing they like each other sooner, or they're so shy that it doesn't matter how many dates they have!"

* * *

"Hey, best buddy!" Sayori shouted as she slammed the door to the apartment open. "You want to go to the festival with me?"

"And miss the opportunity to show the public what good friends we are? Of course I would love to!" Akechi replied, getting up to meet her excited gaze.

"It will be so fun! We'll get snacks, and watch the fireworks!" Sayori said happily.

"And instead of making any progress in our relationship, we'll continue to act aloof instead of communicating properly. This is because we are both fools!" Akechi predicted.

"Right you are, pal! You want to seal that deal with a handshake?" Sayori asked, holding out her hand expectantly.

"Would I?" The detective grasped met the girl's hand with his own, but because even a handshake seemed to be too intimate, instead the two high fived.

* * *

"Your version sounds ridiculous! You want to put your money where your mouth is?" Ann wagered angrily. The model was rather livid at this point, and her artistic hostage saw this.

"Now, Ann…" Yusuke tried to reason. "Before somebody gets hurt, could you please loosen your grip on my wrist? I can't feel my hand anymore, and I need it…"

"What are you willing to wager?" Akira asked cockily. The two started to bicker, while their friends watched in slight worry.

"I think Akira has a problem," Makoto whispered.

"What do you mean?" Ryuji whispered back.

Morgana quickly piped in, "Obviously, Ryuji, Makoto is trying to say that Akira is developing a problem with gambling his hard earned, stolen money on Sayori and Akechi's relationship."

"Speaking of which, should we wake Sayori up? Since we're talking about her, it would only be fair that she knows what we're saying," Makoto pondered, both intimidated and impressed by Sayori's ability to not only sleep while standing up, but somehow also sleep through all of the noise.

"It's a deal then!" Ann shouting, cutting through all nearby conversations. "I'll pay you with the however much money I spend on Sayori's clothes today if it turns out to be an uneventful night."

Akira nodded eagerly. "And if they make any baby steps forward, I'll pay you all of the money we make on our next trip through Mementos."

The two nodded, both with evil smirks on their faces. Ann suddenly turned around towards Sayori, shaking her shoulders and jolting her awake in the process. Thankfully, in this moment she also let go of Yusuke, who seemed about to cry silent tears of joy.

"Wha… Why are you shaking me, Goro?" Sayori muttered sleepily, not quite fully awake yet. She looked over and noticed it was in fact not her roommate shaking her awake, but Ann. "Ann!? What are you doing in my apartment!?"

"Sayori, wake up, we have to get to the mall before it closes!" The newly realized shipper began dragging her towards the subway trains, Yusuke nervously trailing at a distance.

"What? The mall? I thought we were all going home after meeting up! You never told me about this!" Sayori began to panic as Ann now refused to let go of her wrist.

The blonde smiled sheepishly. "Surprise, Sayori… Yusuke and I will make sure you look like the picture of perfection and beauty for your date with Goro. Trust me, okay?"

"I-it's not going to be a date, and you know that, Ann," Sayori tried to argue, the embarrassed blush forming on her face completely contradicting her words. "Besides, I don't really need a yukata… I have plenty of clothes!"

"Sayori, I'm not buying you a yukata out of the goodness of my heart anymore," Ann replied, a serious expression on her face as the group of three got on the subway train. "I'm buying this because it's a matter of my pride as a model!"

Sayori considered the model's words for a second, before looking helplessly at Yusuke. The artist looked at her in apology before walking over to stand by Ann's side. "I am in agreement with Ann. It would simply be a disgrace to myself if I can't help you with this, Sayori."

"How are either of you helping, right now?" Sayori cried desperately. The two looked at eachother, before simply shrugging.

* * *

"It should definitely be sparkly and holo," Ann commented as she held up a yukata to Sayori's frame. Yusuke was on the other side of the store, sorting through a row of floral patterned ones, only to look over at Ann and scowl.

"However right you may think you are, Ann, that shade of pink would look appalling on Sayori. She'll look like some sort of horrendous traffic sign!" the artist brought his own pick of the bunch, a light blue yukata, and shoved Ann's choice out of the way.

"I can already see where you're going with this Yusuke, and I couldn't disagree more!" Ann argued.

"It should match her eyes!"

"But it would clash with her hair!"

"And hot pink wouldn't?"

Sayori looked at the bickering pair in worry. They had only been here for a half hour, and already their friendly chatter over what she should wear was devolving into arguments. _I haven't even gotten to try anything on yet. At this rate we aren't going to get anywhere._ Taking a few small steps away from the two, Sayori began to look around on her own.

"The first thing Akechi-kun should be drawn too are her eyes, so the yukata should match," Yusuke defended stubbornly.

"I can agree on part of that," Ann pondered. "He should look into her eyes right away, but the yukata matching wouldn't make the eyes stand out, it would only make them blend in. What should happen is that everything else is pink, or red for her bow, which will make her eyes… _pop,_ I guess you could say."

"Hm…" Yusuke looked over his choice again. "Perhaps you have something that could be considered a point. But the effect you are going for is rendered completely useless with that hue of pink… and the sparkles."

"Let's start looking again," Ann proposed. "We'll still keep these two choices though, and see what Sayori wants after we finish."

"That sounds reasonable… Still, while the yukata is mainly what we are looking for, we need to find other things to go with it as well," Yusuke agreed. They both went back to searching through the racks, chatting about what else they might need to get.

"We should probably get makeup then, and maybe some nice shoes," Ann proposed. "Do you think Sayori knows how to walk in heels? Actually, no. That's a dumb question. She trips over her own feet on a daily basis."

"Unless you want to do her makeup for her as well, you probably shouldn't plan to get anything other than lip gloss," Yusuke remarked. "That should probably be where the sparkles are."

The two continued searching for a yukata in silence, spending fifteen frustrating minutes of their time in vain. They checked the time nervously, noting with a slight desperation that the stores would all be closing soon. They hadn't even found the first thing on their growing list! Ann was the first to break, throwing down her large pile of clothes in frustration.

"I am so not happy about this. Maybe we should see what Sayori likes best, even if none of them are really fit for her," the blonde grumbled.

"I agree. I need to get going soon anyway," Yusuke responded dryly, looking at his smaller pile of clothes in dissatisfaction. The two turned towards a nearby waiting bench, where they figured Sayori would be waiting in boredom, only to find it void of their friend.

"Did she say where she was going when she left?" Ann tried to recall. Yusuke shook his head in ernest. Thoroughly panicked, the two began a desperate search of the room. The crashing sound near the back of the store a few minutes later set them on high alert. Barreling through the building at breakneck speeds, the two found Sayori, sprawled on the ground, with a large pile of yukatas piled on top of her.

"Sayori, what in the world happened?" Yusuke asked in alarm. Ann began to unbury the poor girl, only for Sayori to rub her head and stand up on her own, a few of the pieces of clothing draped over her shoulders like a mismatched cape.

"I was trying to take a really nice pink yukata off of this rack," Sayori pointed at a nearby lopsided metal monstrosity. "But when I did, it tipped over and spilled all of its stuff on me." The girl sat down on her knees and began sorting through the pile, a worried look on her face. "Oh… I don't think I can find it anymore, and I made this huge mess!" The poor childlike girl looked ready to cry.

"Describe it for us, Sayori," Yusuke responded calmly, sitting down to help sort. Ann wheeled over the bent rack and began to hang all of the ones that weren't pink back on it. The last thing they wanted was to get kicked out of the store when they were on the verge of a possible breakthrough, afterall.

"W-well, it was pretty plain, and a really light pink," Sayori tried to describe it the best she could for the artist. "It was sort of like a blush shade, I think…" A nearby store assistant walking by overheard them. Spotting the described piece of clothing a few feet behind the group, he quickly went to pick it up.

"I'm sorry, you guys… Going off on my own probably wasn't the best idea, especially since you two worry about me so much," Sayori looked down in slight shame, only for a blush pink fabric to be draped over her head. "Wha…?" voice slightly muffled by the clothing, Sayori took the clothing off of her head and examined it.

Ann and Yusuke looked at the yukata with admiring eyes, while Sayori's simply widened. Looking up slightly, she met the friendly gaze of the store attendant. "Ah, thank you for finding this, Mister. I'm sorry about the mess I made." The man simply shrugged, backing away from the odd little group and continuing on with his work.

"Sayori… It's perfect," Ann breathed, before a smirk lit up her face. "Akira is going to be eating his words by the end of your outing! Come on, let's finish up. I found some awesome hair bows when we were running over to you!"

"But I already have a bow," Sayori looked at the two in confusion. "Why are you two looking at me so smugly? Do you have something planned?" Her questions increased in speed and intensity as her friends turned around, failing to reply. "I can't be here all night! I need to go home and… Now you're just ignoring me!"

 **I pretty much set up for angst to happen last chapter, but I couldn't go through with it because some personal stuff happened this week. So if any of you noticed that pattern and expected angst, I should be writing it next chapter. For this week, I hope you at least appreciated the comedy. Anyway, please read, review, and I'll see you all next time.**


	34. Chapter 32&33

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

"Panther! Good work today!" Valiant was quick to congratulate her teammate. Panther accepted the hug she was offered, looking up to smirk at their leader.

Joker seemed rather nervous himself, as well as quite frustrated. His teammates were normally all very confident in themselves and their abilities, but Panther was almost reckless today. It was very obvious that she was already planning ahead for when she might win the bet. However, none of them could mention it with Sayori in their company. Not that there would be any reason too, as everyone else seemed more preoccupied with complimenting her efforts.

"Good job, Lady Ann!" Mona hopped around with stars in his eyes, excited by the loot she had helped them earn.

"Exquisite performance!" Fox added with a knowing smile. The yukata had been the first of many outfits the girl had purchased. It was likely that the blonde was planning for the next ten dates and then some, judging by the staggering amount of online shopping he had needed to help with.

While everyone else nodded in agreement, Skull giving her a pat on the back, Panther shrugged modestly. "I couldn't have done it if Valiant wasn't there, making sure my recklessness didn't come back to bite me."

The pink haired girl blushed, noticing how almost all eyes turned to her with similar looks of pride. "It-It was nothing. I'm just trying to get rid of spare energy before tomorrow night. Thank you, guys, for taking me to Mementos today. I think it helped relieve some tension."

Though Joker was on the wrong side of a losing battle, he could admit he was at least happy to hear this. Now that their two newest members seemed to be fully accustomed to the group, it was safe to say they could start looking for bigger targets once more. And even though he didn't expect any groundbreaking things to happen at the festival, he wanted his teammates to all have fun. So less tension was definitely a good thing. Still, there was one thing he wanted to check up on before he could let the bet continue.

"Valiant," he addressed her with a no nonsense tone. The noble themed thief turned to him with a questioning look. "Can I walk you home tonight? There are some things I would like to discuss with you."

"Well, perhaps not all the way home. I don't think it would be a good idea if Goro spotted the two of us anywhere near each other, both for Phantom Thief reasons, and…" While the girl blushed stupidly, Joker sighed.

Gluing a smile to his face, which felt faker than any he had ever tried, he politely responded, "Of course. I was thinking I would escort you until we were only a couple of blocks away." Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Panther giving him a suspicious look. The girl said a few quiet words to Mona, who saluted in response. Joker wondered what that was about.

"Well, team!" Skull shouted enthusiastically. "Let's call it quits today so we can crash." With everyone in agreement, the group departed.

* * *

"So what do you want to talk about?" Sayori asked, a curious smile on her face. Akira kept his gaze forward, considering how to best ask his question without revealing the wager. If it was revealed, Sayori might act differently than normal to tip the wager.

Finally, he settled on a good starting point. "I'm just thinking that Ann is getting a bit carried away trying to help you, don't you think?"

Sayori paused in her happy little jaunt home, thinking for a moment. "I guess so… I don't really know what she expects me to do, though."

"My guess is that she wants to create the perfect moment for one of you to confess."

Sayori visibly paled at Akira's sentence. Her entire body began to tremble, and the black haired boy wondered if his small statement was really enough to cause anybody else that kind of reaction.

"C-Confess?" Sayori seemed to be locked in a brief spasm of pain, before the moment was gone and she looked ready to vomit. "I don't know why I've never thought of it before, but I guess you're right, Akira. One of us will have to confess… And it will probably have to be me."

"You've never thought of it before?" Morgana poked his head out of Akira's bag, a confused look on his face. "Haven't you had a crush on him for awhile? How come you've never thought of confessing?"

"The circumstances that caused us to live together are… complicated. I don't really know how to explain, mainly because I don't really fully understand it myself. Goro doesn't either. All I can really say is that eventually, he and I are going to have to go our separate ways… I probably won't see him again after that," Sayori sniffled, but Akira was perplexed to still see a small smile on her face.

"You can't be sure of that… It's not like you guys can't call, or text," Morgana pointed out. "Afterall, you guys have thumbs! And phones!"

Sayori just shook her head, "Like I said… It's complicated. You guys have all been so helpful to me, but in the end, it can't really be helped."

"Sayori, why can't you just confess now, and enjoy it while it lasts?" Akira asked, keeping his expression neutral.

"I would love it, if it could be that simple for me. It's not though. The last time I confessed to someone… I don't remember how he responded, but I know… it didn't end well. Everything I felt after that was pain and emptiness. The rain clouds were all so thick, I could barely think, or understand what I was doing. Before I knew it, one thing lead to another, and suddenly I was here…" Sayori began to cry. Akira tentatively put a hand on her shoulder, frowning as he saw the small smile still seemed to be there.

"Is being here really a bad thing? You've seemed happy enough. At least since… we took care of that thing for you," Akira tried to assure. The last thing he needed was for some jerk to see him next to a crying girl, and then get the wrong idea. For the sake of them both, he needed to get Sayori to stop.

"I know, and I'm grateful to you guys for it… I guess it just hurts… to think too far ahead. To be honest, I'm scared of what will happen if I confess. It's a bit funny, how I somehow always manage to get in my own way," Sayori wiped at her eyes as she spoke, taking a shuddering sigh all the while.

"Is that why you have that creepy smile?" Morgana pointed out blatantly.

Sayori gasped, "Oh! I hadn't realized I was doing that. Maybe I'm too tired to think straight, right now. We're getting much closer to the apartment than I thought. You guys can start heading back home if you want."

Akira shook his head. "We still have a few more blocks to go before your roommate can spot me. Who knows, with how Ann is getting to be right now, it could be a good thing that your crush notices you're walking home with someone of the opposite gender."

"O- Oh dear! Don't say that," Sayori lightly pushed Akira, her face going fire engine red. If she got any redder, Akira honestly expected that he might go blind.

"I'm just kidding. Sayori, to be honest, I don't really understand why it would have to be you that would have to confess…" Akira thought back to her explanation for Mai's "she slept with Goro" comment that afternoon in the library. Either way, the two must have been way too close and cuddly with each other for it to have been something where Akechi wasn't aware of the implications. Not to mention, if they went the entire night like that, he clearly hadn't had any objections to it. This line of thinking further cemented into Akira's mind that both of them were idiots that needed to get out more.

"What if he doesn't feel the same way I feel about him?" Sayori looked so oblivious and shy, it made Akira resist the undeniable urge to flick her on the forehead and give her some sense.

"I suppose that's one reason why Lady Ann is so insistent that you should go to the festival with him tomorrow. Although she thinks of it as a date, that's a matter of perception. She wants something to happen that will push things forward. Speaking of which... Sayori, if cuddling together on the couch doesn't do it for you, what action will convince you that he has feelings for you?" Morgana cut in, using his wisdom on perception and Ann to explain things in a clearer way.

Sayori thought to herself for a moment, her face once again gaining a red hue. However, this one wasn't nearly as intense. A light smile spread on her face as she now had conclusive results. "I'll tell you guys, if it happens. By the way, I wish you good luck on your bet, Akira. You'll need it," Having said that, Sayori began to jog the last two blocks home, leaving Akira confused.

"How did she figure that out?" Akira muttered to himself, turning back around to head back to Leblanc.

"I'm guessing Yusuke, Makoto, or Ryuji told her. Either that, or she wasn't actually asleep when you or Lady Ann made the bet in the first place," Morgana guessed. "Akira, why did you want to walk Sayori home?"

"I guess you could say I wanted to know how likely it was that I would win the bet," Akira replied, silently contemplating to himself. "I am actually starting to think that maybe, just maybe, Ann might be onto something here."

* * *

"Sayori, are you almost ready?" Goro asked, looking out the window. "We should get going before it gets too dark. There might not be any good places to see the fireworks anymore."

"I'm ready," Sayori replied, stepping out of the bathroom. "But are you? You're just dressed in your regular suit, like always." She couldn't help but chuckle to herself when she still saw him turned around. Perhaps it had been too mean to make sure he didn't get a chance to look at her until they were about to go.

"Well, I would have worn something different tonight, but everyone thought it would be good publicity for any interviews I might have," Goro shuddered. If he were to read between the lines, he might have thought they were trying to sabotage him. Then again, he had felt a striking sense of paranoia for a few days.

"So basically," he felt a shy hand on his shoulder. "They're hoping fangirls ambush you in the street, when it's supposed to be a fun time for just the two of us? That doesn't seem very fair. It just seems like they are trying to force exhaustion on you when the festival is supposed to be for relaxing."

"Could be…" the detective mused. "Still, as long as I don't announce my presence, the chances are slim that any unwanted attention will become too overbearing." He awkwardly pat the hand on his shoulder, trying to assure Sayori. "By the way, can I turn around now? I still don't quite get why you wouldn't let me see you earlier."

Sayori giggled nervously. "My friend said it would be bad luck if I let you see me before it was time to go. Still, I think it's safe now," she joked. Gripping his shoulder, she gently turned Goro to face her, a happy smile on her face.

"Oh wow, Sayori. You look perfect," the detective said with a smile, the girl stealing his breath away even as he spoke. Her blush pink yukata was cute enough on its own, but the bows that loosely secured the twin tails on either side of her head seemed to cement the picture of youthful innocence she was going for. Her bright blue eyes stood out, a calm sky against the passionate red and pink. Once again poor Goro thought he might be struck dumb by the adorable energy that was radiating from her.

"You really think so?" Sayori shyly smiled. She waited a moment for her roommate to nod in confirmation, as he was always so eager to assure her, only to be met by silence. Looking up in confusion, the girl could only laugh at the sight of Goro Akechi, standing stock still with a blush on his face. His expression was one of slight frustration, and Sayori could only form guesses as to why that was.

 _Maybe he's jealous because he can't wear his yukata?_ With no better conclusion, the girl shrugged and went up to Goro. "So you were saying that you wanted to leave now?"

The prompt seemed to spur the detective into motion, breaking him out of his trance and into the task at hand. "O-Of course, Sayori. I can get the door for you." With that declaration, he marched over to the apartment door and opened it, an embarrassed flush on his face inclining him to avoid eye contact.

"My hero," Sayori lightly teased, stepping through the door. Goro Akechi exited as well, dusting imaginary dirt off of his own clothing. After double checking that both of them were prepared for the evening, the two eagerly left the apartment, unaware of the events of the night that would shatter their false sense of calm. For better or for worse, yet another new change was coming.

* * *

 **End Chapter 32, begin Chapter 33.**

* * *

Sayori's phone dinged, alerting her that Ann had sent yet another new text, asking for an update. Taking a quick look over at Goro, only to see that he was still walking in determination towards what he claimed to be a good spot to watch the fireworks, the girl dug her phone out of her pocket to read her new messages.

"How is it going?" Ann had asked.

Sayori thought for a moment, before hesitantly texting a reply. "Very slowly. I get the feeling he's trying to be a gentleman, but he's more like a stiff soldier. I suppose at the very least he's doing us both a favor by trying to find the perfect spot."

"That's not good! That's the exact mentality you don't want to have for this sort of thing! He's too focused on the destination… You need to get him to enjoy the journey!" Ann's text, though as silent as a mouse and as not intimidating as a leaf soaring through the wind, impacted Sayori with the force of a raging bull.

"How am I supposed to do that?!" Sayori paused in her frantic texting, looking back up to find Goro glancing back at her with a concerned gaze.

"Do you need anything? We're getting close, so after we get there, maybe I can find a place to get snacks?" He offered a kind smile, only faltering when his foot an uneven patch on his path. He stumbled for a moment, only for Sayori to grab pull on his arm before he could tumble to the ground.

"You should watch where you're going, instead of looking over your shoulder, Goro," Sayori said with a stricken tone. Her body had acted on its own, with reflexes faster than Sayori would have thought possible months ago. Sayori thought that perhaps she should have been happy about this, but for some reason she could only feel incredibly nervous. Attributing it to the fact that her roommate almost cracked his head on the sidewalk, the girl brushed the thought of, giving her roommate a pat on the back as well.

"I appreciate your assistance, Sayori. However, we really should be going," Goro prompted, taking advantage of the fact that Sayori had yet to release his arm to pull her along. Looking back, he noticed the girl had a sad expression on her face, as if she felt that something wasn't right.

"You need to slow him down somehow!" Ann had texted in her absence.

"Maybe you could do one of those pratfalls, like in romcoms, so you can get closer to the guy!" Ryuji had chimed in.

"Can I take this as confirmation that you watch romantic comedies, Ryuji," Ann had responded.

"Ha! No way I'd ever watch that girly crap!" Ryuji texted, too quickly to be believable.

"Ryuji watches romcoms. It's canon now," Akira's text was so matter-of-factly, it almost made Sayori forget her growing annoyance at the rapid change of subject. A sad smile crossed her face as the texts continued to diverge, Yusuke taking the time to comment how his lack of money made romantic comedies unavailable to him, and Makoto voicing her concerns about how this was all rather unhelpful to Ann's goal.

 _That was probably Akira's goal when he texted that, to sabotage Ann, so he has a better chance of winning. Meanwhile, I'm floundering like a fish in a dry desert, my only source of reprieve, a cactus full of dangerously hallucinogenic water,_ Sayori sighed, putting her phone away, and knowing she was doing something wrong as Goro hurried them towards their destination. What was worse, the girl had absolutely no clue on how to fix it. _But is it just me, or is he slowing down?_

Indeed, Goro Akechi was slowing his pace, coming to a full stop on the sidewalk after a short time. He turned to face Sayori with an apologetic grin, gazing into her eyes with a look that made the pit in Sayori's stomach dissolve slightly. "I'm sorry I'm rushing you like this, Sayori. It's just that, I used to really enjoy this festival as a kid, watching it with my… with someone close. We'd watch them in a very special spot, you could say it's my favorite spot, in fact. I just really want to share that with you…" the detective looked away, trying to avoid Sayori's eyes. However, avoiding eye contact did nothing to hide the unavoidable guilty look in Goro's eyes.

Sayori couldn't help but blush in embarrassment and shame. Of all the things Ann could have discussed, all of the outcomes she could have predicted, this was most certainly _not_ one of them. However, Sayori could recognize a lot of things, and could respond accordingly to them. In this situation, aside from the obvious mistake she had made of trusting people, who were betting on her relationship status, with her social life, she could also recognize effort.

Whatever Goro had in store for her had been thought out carefully, and perhaps it was also his way of telling her something. Whatever it was that he was trying to say, however, would be ruined if they couldn't get to their destination on time. Seeing her roommate's shy gaze, Sayori felt a wave of nausea and guilt flow through her. Was she really so awful, that she couldn't realize how hard Goro Akechi was trying?

 _Bets be damned… I'm doing this myself! It's what I was made for, right?_ Sayori resolutely shoved her phone deep into the recesses of her purse pocket, ignoring it for the time being.

Her determined energy was radiant, and upon glancing back at her, Goro found himself overwhelmed by the sudden change. _Where did that come from?_ His eyes widened in astonishment, causing Sayori to giggle.

"Come on, let's get a move on, then," Sayori encouraged. "I've never been to the festival… Or at least I don't think I have," the girl drolled in the most vulnerable tone she could muster. "I'm so excited to see what you have in store!"

Seeing her kind smile was encouragement enough, and the detective couldn't help but want to comment how she was laying it on a little thick. However, he would refrain for now. Her ability to rebound, or lack thereof, was too adorable to deny. These thoughts once again, for some reason, left Goro with an odd sense of frustration that he couldn't pinpoint. Instead of expressing this feeling though, the young man covered it up with a happy smile and grabbed the girl lightly by the wrist, leading her eagerly towards their destination.

* * *

"Wow…"

Sayori's breathless murmur made a victorious smirk cross Goro Akechi's face. In hindsight, the wooden bridge was nothing special, but the surroundings of an almost completely average cityscape made the quaint little thing seem right out of a fairytale. There was no water beneath the bridge, but the dugout trench, which was in the process of being refilled with cement, gave away that it once had been used for park trails. Looking at the bridge again after many long years brought a wave of nostalgia and sadness over the aspiring detective. For his purposes tonight, perhaps he could one again find a happy memory to associate it with.

"It's the perfect spot to see the fireworks, even if it is a bit out of the way," Goro explained, finding it within himself the ability to monologue about the sad little collection of almost rotting wooden planks. "It used to be part of a park for a district of poor people. I think the apartment buildings they used to live in got torn down recently. In fact, if we continued to walk straight ahead, we probably might run into leftover ru… Nevermind," the detective laughed it off, not noticing the worried glance Sayori briefly gave him.

"Anyway, the bridge was going to be torn down as well, along with the rest of the park, but the local poor people that lived here protested with an intensity that almost all politicians agreed wasn't worth the effort. Surprisingly, the politicians didn't win in the end, because the people claimed that it was going to be a memorial," This particular sentence seemed to pain the poor boy immensely, and Sayori moved to hug him, to urge him to stop, only for him to reject the hug with a surprised chuckle.

"It's still so hard for me to believe sometimes, I almost can't process it… It's been so long…" The detective took deep shuddering breaths, calming himself down, before politely grinning at the concerned girl before him. "And for tonight, this memorial bridge will be the perfect place to watch the fireworks.

 _There's something he's not telling me…_ The thought hit Sayori as subtle as a pile of gold bricks, and watching her friend trying to hide his sad grin, it wasn't hard to figure out why. Edging slightly closer to him, the girl rested her head on her roommate's shoulder. She feigned tiredness, all the while hoping Goro picked up on the message she was trying to send him. It was like waiting on the other side of a closed door, hearing your closest friend crying on the other side, but unable to enter, without an invitation, all shouts of comfort falling short.

The heavy tension that settled into Sayori's heart with that thought of doors, of wanting to kick them down, or gently open them, depending on the situation, gave her a brief moment of clarity. She knew she was closer than ever to seeing something that was too far away to be seen by the naked eye, of being able to see through all of the lies and illusions that had been placed on her by some unforgiving entity. All of this was caused by the moment of peace she had, resting her head on Goro's shoulder. _Just a bit further, and I'll figure it out… White bow, black hair… No wait, it might have been pink… But was it the bow or the hair that was pink?_

And all at once, her peace was shattered by a harsh burst of light, followed by an even harsher sound. Sayori blinked rapidly, shaking off the sudden feeling of actual exhaustion that had settled over her, and couldn't help but glance up at Goro, knowing very well that she probably looked like a completely lost little child.

Unbeknownst to her, however, that was one of the things Goro found most endearing about her. Shifting his shoulder in a teasing way, he avoided the urge to chuckle at her tired moans. "The fireworks are starting… Stay awake, Sayori." The girl stubbornly shook her head and pressed her head into his shoulder, letting her hair just begin to touch the back of his jacket. Frowning a little bit, the detective raised a confused hand to her head, only to immediately recoil. _What am I even trying to do? Maybe I've become ill…_

"The fireworks are pretty," Sayori mumbled, about to nuzzle closer. However, this was interrupted when she felt something unexpected on her cheek. Looking up in surprise, Sayori backed away from Goro, who suddenly felt an aching soreness in the back of his throat. The girl held her hand up to the sky, and confirmed her suspicions with a sigh, "Ugh, it's raining!"

"It's raining…" Goro echoed absentmindedly. He swallowed the growing lump in his throat and blinked away the small pinpricks forming in his eyes. Hiding his clenched hands behind his back, the detective gave a charming smile. "We should start heading back then… I wouldn't want either of us to get sick."

"No…" Sayori couldn't help but whine. "We just got here, I don't want to go home just yet." She looked sadly up at the sky, as if willing the rain to stop, before regret surged through her. The night was ruined… Perhaps the universe was just pitted against her, unable to give her even one brief night of fleeting romance.

Still, despite the obvious signs, Sayori wasn't ready to give up on their night yet. She needed to do something, will an argument into existence that would convince the sky to stop going, the fireworks to keep going, and convince herself and Goro to stay put exactly where they were… but perhaps a bit more forward. With this conclusion in mind, Sayori looked towards her roommate with a chipper, determined smile… only for her breath to catch almost immediately.

On the outside, Goro Akechi looked like his usual polite, happy, prideful self, but Sayori had a certain skill when it came to the people she held close. That forced smile was easy to decipher, and the girl realized her roommate was holding back something different from his usual forced smile. Those were the ones she could never truly decipher, as they held back something she couldn't yet comprehend. The smile he had on this time however, was easy. It was neither the rare real smile he kept privy to her on special occasions, nor was it the incomprehensible fake smile. Sayori knew this smile well, for she often used to wear it herself on a daily basis. The sad, fake smile that always held back a deep and longing sorrow was beginning to look akin to his usual fake smile, now that Sayori thought about it. _Sadness, longing, and… something else._

It was in noticing that smile that the girl no longer found herself with the will to argue, but instead the will to compromise. She couldn't help the sad sigh of disappointment that escaped as she allowed herself to be lead away. She spared herself one last glance back at the beautiful little bridge, hoping it would not be the last time she would visit it. Yet all the while the girl plotted how she would veer her friend off of his determined course home, briefly recalling where the rest of her friends were meeting up.

* * *

Akira, Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, and Makoto were all about to go their separate ways when they noticed a horde of girls crowding by a street corner. Almost all of them were dressed in their yukatas, making the group have to strain their eyes for any one individual in the throng.

"What do you think this is about?" Morgana asked, peeking from Akira's bag, trying desperately not to get hit by the dreaded rain.

"By the looks of all of those chicks, I'd say there's some crazy guy at a booth sellin' scented candles, perfume, or cleaning products…" Ryuji theorized. When everyone shot him a confused look, he shrugged. "I mean… All of 'em either look like soccer moms or 'trendy' chicks, so I'm guessin' there's somethin' there that would catch their eye."

Two of the girls in the crowd caught Yusuke's eye, and he couldn't help but groan. "Something tells me that Ryuji is onto something. I can see those two girls from earlier, the ones that utterly disgraced the yukata… But they don't seemed to be trying to get something…" The artist continued to study the crowd, his people watching skills coming in handy. "Does any of you think that they might be trying to… lunge at something, perhaps?"

"Here's a thought," Makoto began. "Maybe we could ask other people if they know something?" The girl's suggestion immediately fell on deaf ears as any questions they could have asked were answered for them.

A group of passing school girls had caught notice of the struggle, and instantly their expressions took on a surprisingly intimidating, excited edge. "It's Akechi-kun!" They both cheered, and immediately melted into the crowd.

Everyone but Akira's jaw dropped in shock. The black haired boy merely shrugged, adjusted his glasses, and got out his phone, all while muttering a quiet, "That explains a lot…"

Ann suddenly had a panicked thought, running her fingers through her hair nervously. "But if Akechi is there, surrounded by raving fangirls, then is Sayori…"

"Is Sayori even alive in that mob?" Makoto finished for her, anxiously scanning the yukata-clad crowd for the light pink one that Ann and Yusuke had made sure to describe in exasperating detail, down to the thread count. Everyone tensed and immediately joined the girls in their search.

After a few minutes of fruitless effort, the group was beginning to give up hope, only for Morgana to suddenly perk up, jerking Akira's bag in his excitement. "I see her! She's hiding by the streetlight!"

Everyone immediately turned their heads, noting with concern the trembling girl, who seemed torn between jumping into the mob in order to conduct a hopeless rescue, and running away like a coward. Ryuji was the first to comment on this with his top notch comparison.

"Dude! She looks like she just saw her hamster get eaten by a bear!" While Morgana began to comment on the stupidity of that sentence, the rest of the group took that as a go-ahead to rush towards the stunned girl.

"Sayori!" Ann was the first to shout, running up and hugging the poor thing like how a child embraces a long lost puppy. Upon contact with the blonde model, Sayori began to choke and sputter, recounting what happened like a traumatized war veteran. Ann noticed this and quickly released her grip, instead settling for dusting off the girls abused yukata.

"Ann… There were so many… We didn't even know… Green… I feel this icky green feeling."

The others looked on in confusion and concern, wondering what exactly to do for such a bizarre situation. The only other one who seemed to have any ideas on what to try was Ryuji, who lightly patted the girl's back.

"What happened?" Makoto asked in an urgent tone. While Sayori was still nowhere near calmed down, she still had the mental capacity to tell them what had caused her such panic, all the while the Phantom Thieves silently considered the thought that these crazed fans needed a lesson in common courtesy.

"It was so sudden… It only took one girl to shout his name and suddenly they were on us like a stampede! I think the first few at least asked if they could hug him. One, maybe two, glared at me… I think it was at that point that Goro tried to resist. But then everything became more chaotic! Everything is a blur after he tried to pretend that he was sick, and began to fake-sneeze on all of them…" Sayori trembled in… fear?

No, upon further inspection, everyone could conclude that she definitely wasn't afraid. Sayori had a vacant look in her eye that none of them could really place, as none of them had ever seen her with it. Surprisingly, it was Ryuji who began to put the puzzle pieces together first.

"You said you had a green feeling, right? To me, this sounds like you had a visit from a green-eyed monster," the boy teased, earning only a confused look from the girl.

"Is that a shadow I haven't come across yet?"

"Nah! At least none I know about," Ryuji shrugged it off. "What I'm tryin' to say is that you feel very jealous right now!"

"I think a better way to say it is, 'concerned for my roommate's safety,'" Sayori couldn't help but mutter. "I can't even hear him through the crowd… I don't know what's going on anymore…"

"At this point, I think there's only one thing you can do…" Akira spoke up. Everyone turned to glance at him, wondering what he could possibly mean. "You need to declare dominance, and show all of these females that your roommate prefers you over them."

Ann blinked, wondering if she heard that right, before weighing the consequences of such an action. _On one hand, that would be super cute, and I would definitely win the bet. But on the other, that could backfire, making this mob turn into a frenzy. But yet again… That would be super cute._

While she was considering the options, Akira decided to make one thing clear to his teammates, who were all very confused by him suddenly wanting Sayori to make such an advancement. "Listen, you guys. Any other time, I would not support this. This stupid crowd of crazed Akechi obsessors is the biggest reason why, because Sayori doesn't need anymore to deal with. But tonight I'm vouching for it, because it's late, it's raining, and none of my teammates should have to be out here."

"Also," Yusuke added, glaring at the crowd, "Sayori is far more deserving of the one she has interests in than any of the females in this crowd. I hesitate to call any of them women, for they seem to reject the concept as well."

Sayori sniffled, touched by her friends' words, but feeling that she didn't deserve their confidence. "Thanks, guys. But what would I even do? These girls… They remind me of…" For a moment, she seemed genuinely afraid of something, but the Phantom Thieves were having none of it.

"Hey, you're Valiant, right?" Ryuji asked rhetorically. "You're all noble and stuff, so act like it. You're already a few steps above _these_ types of girls," he added this for the benefit of Ann and Makoto, who were giving him small looks of approval.

"Just be yourself, Sayori. We'll be behind you every step of the way," Makoto assured, knowing from recent experience how much support meant to the girl.

"Oh… Okay. I think I have an idea," Sayori said, more to herself than to the others. "Don't follow me in, guys. Just stay where I can see you… just in case." With that said, the girl walked calmly into the horde.

* * *

 _If I had to rank it, I'd say today is turning out to be the fifth worst day of my life,_ Goro thought to himself in utter shame. _Stupid, stupid, stupid… I should have gone by my better judgement and worn something less noticeable._ He really didn't have the patience for fangirls today. But the festival was like a magnet for the types of teenagers that made up his fanbase.

The detective was beginning to wish he hadn't been so insistent on leaving the bridge, because now he was wet, cold, tired, and incredibly crowded. If they had stayed at the bridge, at least then he would only be wet, cold, tired, and in the company of someone he could actually say mattered to him. He would sell all of these girls to the devil for a plate of cookies, if given the option. Either way, he was incredibly stressed, and was beginning to regret leaving the apartment.

 _No… I shouldn't think that. At the very least I showed her the bridge._ Goro Akechi could at least pretend to tolerate these girls, and the rain, with that thought in mind. Finally, someone other than himself, and the kind neighbors who had saved his favorite playset, could understand how important it was to him.

If only it hadn't started to rain before he could fully explain.

If only these overwhelming conditions didn't force him to separate from what mattered most to him.

If only…

Someone wrapped their arms around his and pulled him tight, and Goro almost immediately tried to jerk away. However, he froze when he noticed who exactly was getting comfortable hanging off his arm. He was caught between a feeling of sheer terror and utter delight when Sayori's sky blue eyes gazed cheerfully into his own. The crowd seemed to notice his hesitation to preserve his virtue around her, because they immediately backed off and began whispering among themselves.

Goro Akechi could feel himself losing resolve. He knew the best thing would be to pull his arm away from Sayori and try to lessen the damage of looking like he was taken. Afterall, he was more attractive to the public when he appeared charming, smart, and single. Not to mention, it was safer for Sayori to stay away from the public's scrutiny. The less eyes on her the better, because it was less likely she'd get caught, both as a Phantom Thief, and as a potential way of getting him even further under his employer's thumb.

Yet at the same time, as the detective kept trying to rebuild his resolve, Sayori kept battering it down with each passing second. Now that she had linked his arm with her own, she was also leaning her body on his own, almost in the exact position to lean her head on his shoulder. Goro blushed, and realized that almost everything was betraying his better judgement. He could try to pretend that he didn't know what his roommate was doing, that he was such a charming, oblivious boy that he thought all friends did this, but in the end his stupid blush gave it away.

"S-Sayori?"

"I'm ready for you to take me home, Goro," The girl replied sweetly. "I wouldn't want either of us to get sick. I know how much you adore your fans, but you've kept them up all so late…" The girl continued to fawn.

Goro frowned. When did she find the time to become such a good actress. Or maybe she had always been good at it, and he just hadn't noticed because she acted differently when it was just the two of them. However, her acting would mean nothing if he didn't play along. Still, how would everyone else react? Already he could see the media blowing up, everyone at work would see it, including…

 _What's he going to do about it? Why would he even care? It's not like he's ever cared about anything you've ever done before…_ Goro couldn't help but stiffen slightly. There was so much that he wanted to argue against, but he wasn't sure which part of himself was even making that argument. It definitely wasn't true though. There were some things he did that that man cared about, and all of them aligned with keeping Sayori out of the public's attention.

 _What can they do to her, that you couldn't repay in double? If they try to ruin her in some way, you can make them see their error in the Metaverse. Besides, there's always the slim chance that you're just being a paranoid little minion, too afraid of your master's whip to act out…_

Sayori noticed the way he stiffened, and immediately began to worry. Did he think she was becoming one with the crowd? Had she gone too far? Surely he could see that she truly did want to go home at this point… Noticing the way the crowd was getting over their shock, and seeing the hostile looks some of the girls in the crowd were giving her, Sayori hugged her roommate tighter. Not because she was scared, but because she was honestly curious of what he would do. Not to mention, before this entire spectacle, Goro had simply seemed to need a hug, or some form of comfort.

 _To Hell with it…_

Sayori perked up in shock when Goro finally reacted, bending his arm to better link his arm with her own, and giving the crowd of girls around them a sheepish smile.

"I'm sorry everyone, but my roommate is right," The detective rubbed the back of his head, before pointing up at the sky. "If you couldn't already tell, the two of us are very much… under the weather."

The Phantom Thieves all simultaneously cringed at his pun. Sayori cringed in her heart, but laughed along with the rest of the crowd. Goro Akechi took the reactions in stride, before doing something none of the surrounding parties had anticipated.

Before Sayori could process it, the detective was unfastening his jacket and draping it across her shoulders. Having gone through this once before, Sayori felt herself doing the familiar motions of holding the collar hem closer, essentially making it seem like a cape.

However, Goro merely tsked at her before doing something even more unexpected. In an incredibly slow way, he began to button the jacket up, making it incredibly obvious that he wanted the surrounding crowd to get a good look. After finishing up with _that_ , the incredibly cocky detective hugged Sayori in one final act of affection that sent most of the silently suffering fans into heartbreak. The Phantom Thieves were surprised none of them dropped dead on the spot.

"Sayori, can you help me keep my jacket dry while I get us a ride home?" Goro asked, noting in the corner of his eye the familiar group of her friends. Specifically Akira, who was silently muttering to himself in annoyance.

"Sure," Sayori murmured shyly, not understanding how any of this was already happening. _His cologne smells nice, at least… It makes me feel pretty._

* * *

A few moments later, Akira and Ann both watched the cab Akira had rented drive away.

"It was nice of you to admit defeat by getting them a ride home, Akira," Ann teased.

"You haven't won until Sayori gives us her feedback," Akira claimed, knowing it was basically hopeless to argue. "And I only rented the cab because I wanted them both home before Akechi had a chance to take off anymore clothes."

"You may say that now, but we'll just have to wait and see. Face it, Akira. We may all not really like Akechi, but almost everyone on this team can agree that Sayori deserves to be the happiest she can be," Ann retorted.

"I want her to be happy too, but I also don't think her being happy will result from her going out with a cocky, narcissistic, poster-boy, know-it-all-"

"Are you done?" Ann asked, turning around to head to her own home. "Akira, I think you should follow Morgana's advice and get some rest. You're a real pain when you're cranky."

Akira bitterly admitted that Ann at least had a small point there. Besides, a soaking wet Morgana was not a happy Morgana.

"What do you think they're doing in that cab?" The cat asked from inside the boy's bag.

"Probably apologizing over and over for overstepping each other's boundaries," Akira shrugged it off, still deciding to be stubborn. "They'll probably still be doing that when they get to their apartment."

Oh, how wrong he was.

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this rather long chapter. I also appreciate your patience as well. I hope you all have had happy holidays. Please read, review, and I'll see you all in 2019!**


	35. Chapter 34

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

As soon as the door to the apartment was open, Goro rushed in and collapsed on the couch, Sayori not far behind him. The two leaned against each other in an awkward silence for a few minutes. Their rain soaked clothes stuck to them in uncomfortable ways, and yet Sayori found that easy to ignore. On any other day, she would have expected her roommate to be trying to fill the silence in order to keep both of their minds occupied, perhaps with skillful observations of something that had caught his interest that day at work, or maybe he would mention a particularly confusing part of one of his cases. If there had been nothing of the sort to talk about, he would normally suggest that they get out one of their books and attempt to read together until he declared that he needed to start dinner.

Yet tonight he was oddly quiet. Even on the ride home, when they could have talked to each other in comfort in the back of the taxi, he had been mute. As soon as they had gotten in, Goro had made sure his jacket was still secure on Sayori, and after that, had done the bare minimum of responding to her. This was so unlike the detective, who was normally eager to have people to talk to, that Sayori was becoming more and more convinced that her roommate really was sick.

Before she could bring it up, however, Goro shifted slightly before clearing his throat. "We should probably take showers before we head to bed…" He murmured, obviously trying to deflect Sayori's attention away from him. Her aura of concern for him, while endearing, only served to make the detective feel even more weary than he already was.

However, this comment seemed to have the opposite effect, because now Sayori was staring at him even more, as if waiting for something. The detective couldn't help but become worried by this. Had they run out of something that she needed? Was she waiting for him to give it to her? Or did it have something to do with their evening? Maybe after tonight… she expected him to do something more? Or was it the worst possible scenario… Did she suspect him of something?

All of these thoughts made his stomach feel as if it had turned inside out, and he began to noticeably sweat. Sayori noticed this, and added these factors on to her theory that he was most definitely sick. Which was also why she was waiting for him to get up and go take that shower he was suggesting. He had sounded like he had wanted to excuse himself earlier…

Her poor, poor roommate must be really sick. Maybe being ill just made his supposedly smart mind really slow, or just made it harder for him to get up… Or maybe Sayori was thinking too hard about this. The girl squinted at her roommate, considering her options, unaware that her narrowed eyes were only putting him more on edge.

"S-Sayori, why are you staring at me like that?" Goro asked nervously. "Aren't you cold at all in that? I… I should have brought an umbrella tonight," he began to quietly berate himself, and Sayori couldn't help but frown.

"I'm waiting for you to go take a shower! Why would you think I'm cold? You're the one without a jacket," Sayori pointed out. "Look! You're even shivering!"

Shivering was not the right word for it. It was more like he was trembling, because he hardly felt cold. However, one glance at Sayori told him she wouldn't accept any excuses. That didn't mean he wasn't going to try though.

"I'm just tired, Sayori. Tonight had been rather taxing, after all…"

Something about that seemed to cut Sayori, because now she looked absolutely livid. "Don't talk like that, Goro. You can't be _just_ tired. Don't… don't talk like that."

Although she was trying to be stern, and have an unbreakable, unquestionable look of authority, her eyes betrayed it all. No matter how hard she tried, there were layers for how much she could hide from her roommate. She couldn't hide anything with anger or frustration, it was beyond her capabilities to act that way when all she wanted to do was take those closest to her in her arms. However, looking at Goro, she decided to give him one small mercy before she did that.

Shifting closer to him, Sayori put a supportive hand on her friend's shoulder, smiling kindly. "Goro, my dear, sweet, amazing roommate… Go take a shower before I drag you there myself," Her smile had taken on a slightly more menacing aura as those last words left her mouth. "And when you're done, let's talk. It's important."

The poor detective felt that he was in a corner. One thing had become clear in the time he had shared a space with Sayori. He could almost never say no to her, and the look on Sayori's face was that of a kitten who had just discovered she had claws.

Goro sighed before heading to the shower, knowing that in one way or another, he was not going to enjoy the conversation. _At the very least, maybe the shower can help me get my thoughts in order…_

* * *

Sayori was already dressed in her night clothes, waiting for him. Goro felt a strange mixture of nervousness and reassurance at that. The girl gestured to the seat beside her, expectantly. "Do you feel any better?" she asked hopefully.

"Not really," Goro admitted, much to Sayori's chagrin. "But then again, I haven't felt better about these things in a long time." He said these things hesitantly, knowing that this was uncharted territory that he had just entered. However, if there was one person who he would like to share a semblance of the truth with, Sayori was much more preferable than any others he could think of right now.

"Goro, I've had this feeling all night that there's something you aren't telling me," Sayori began, wondering how far she should try to pry. "We're friends, aren't we? You've been nothing but good to me these past months, and I can't help but feel so lucky, and happy, that you invited me into your home. I know that this is a lot to ask for, especially since I'm really only your guest in formal terms…"

Sayori sighed as she leaned her head back on the couch, silently wondering how she had never really thought to ask him things like this before. "Wow, there's really not a good way to ask this… It's just, I was hoping that hanging out tonight would be a chance for us to become… closer, but you've seemed uncomfortable the entire night. Is it because of me?"

Goro Akechi immediately stiffened, as if that was the last thing he wanted to hear. Sayori had made it clear that she needed more reassurance than he had been intending to give, more details, in order to insure he wasn't lying for her sake. He couldn't help but weakly moan, wondering who was really going to need comfort in the end.

"Sayori, don't belittle yourself like that. You've made this night better than it would have been if I had gone out alone tonight, and on any other night, no matter how hard my day has been, I can count on the fact that I can walk into an apartment that's less empty than before… You've given me a more noble goal to pursue," The detective bit his lip in consideration. He wasn't going to elaborate on the last part. That information was too sensitive for her ears to hear, and one wrong slip could put everything in jeopardy.

"Oh, I'm happy that you think of me like that…" Sayori smiled slightly, before glancing at Goro in concern. "But if I wasn't making you uncomfortable, than what was?"

The detective blanched, taking his turn to lean his head against the couch. It was obvious to Sayori that she had struck a sensitive area. However, just as she opened her mouth to take it back, the detective spoke ten words that seemed to make the entire world stop in its orbit.

"Everything about tonight, has made me think about my mother…"

It took a few seconds for Sayori to remind herself that she needed to breathe in order to speak.

"Your mother?" she gasped. Goro had never spoken about his family, and since he was living by himself at the age of seventeen, Sayori had been content to leave the subject alone. It had never occurred to her that this was something they should have talked about.

"Yeah… I should have picked a better spot to take you, but it only occurred to me when it started to rain that I wouldn't be able to handle talking about these things." For a detective, he felt that he was quite foolish for not considering these things.

"That spot was perfect, Goro. That memorial bridge was beautiful. Wait, you said it was a…" Sayori's face paled as she glanced her roommate's way. He seemed to sink further and further into the couch as realization dawned on her. "A memorial to… oh. I'm sorry, Goro… I'm sorry." Sayori felt like crying, but couldn't bring herself to do so. Afterall, there was no way she could possibly feel worse about it than him.

"It's not your fault, Sayori. There's nothing to apologize for," the detective ran a hand down his face. "If anything, it's mostly my fault."

"Your fault?" Sayori asked softly. There was that familiar alarm going off, telling her that her friend desperately needed a hug, or a hand on his shoulder, or anything he might find comforting.

"Yeah… I was one of the main people that took away my mother's future. She threw away her life because I was such a burden to care about…" Goro Akechi felt his throat close up. He shouldn't be talking about this with Sayori. If she put two and two together, she might assume that he pitied her, when that was the farthest thing from the truth. He pitied himself. He had put himself in a corner that there was no way to get out of. However much of a respite Sayori was for him, it was best that she was only there briefly. So she shouldn't bother herself with his emotional, as well as mental, issues.

But before he could say this, tell Sayori to worry about herself, she was already wrapping him in a tight hug.

"I'm not a little kid, Goro…" Sayori murmured. "I can handle hearing things like this, especially if it's coming from you. It's the least I can do after everything you've helped me with." It was true, Goro had helped her in more ways than he could fathom. He had always made sure she wasn't lost in her head for too long, and made sure the rainclouds never got too heavy…

After a long time of heavy silence, Sayori was beginning to wonder if Goro was even awake, he was rather limp as she grasped onto him afterall. Before she could investigate this, however, she felt his arms tighten around her waist, and the way the detective was once again trembling. Sayori put in as much effort as she could to hug him back just as tightly.

"It's okay, Goro. Let it out. You can cr-"

" _I hate him so much!"_

 _What?_ Sayori had expected sadness, maybe even fear, to be the cause of these trembles. The last thing she had expected was anger.

Yet, it made sense. He had snapped at her once before, but had apologized immediately after. Still…

"Goro? Who are you talking about?"

The detective once again went stiff, secure in the knowledge that he had slipped up. Sayori gazed up at him from where she was leaning on him, choosing not to bring up how he was slightly suffocating her, instead settling for piercing him with her worried, very sad, eyes.

Goro Akechi was inwardly chastising himself. He didn't want to talk about that trashy, manipulative excuse for a man. Not right now, at least. Instead, he simply decided to meet his roommates gaze with his own, taking a few deep breaths. Maybe if he could calm himself down in enough time, he could go back to his original sadness. It made perfect logical sense in his messed up mind that sadness was much better, simply because he could share that with Sayori, without making her worried about her own safety. His anger only ever seemed to hurt people, and he didn't want to think about what he would do if Sayori got hurt because of his rarely seen temper.

While Goro Akechi was in the middle of his emotional crisis, Sayori was thinking of the best way to calm him down. She had missed something while clinging onto him earlier… One moment they were talking about his mother's death, her poor roommate looking like he wanted to bawl his eyes out. Then suddenly he looks like he wants to strangle the next living male thing around him. The only thing currently on Sayori's mind was getting the full story, or at least the closest thing she could get to the full story, of why this normally composed detective was being such a spaz.

Of course, when it came to the emotions of others (she sucked at her own) Sayori was a genius. Retightening her grip around Goro's shoulders, the girl readjusted her position so she was as close to the detective as she could get. While Akira's assumption that they were fools for not starting a relationship earlier was true, that didn't mean Sayori wasn't waiting desperately to start one. Then she could be as unsubtle as she wanted, about how much she wanted to cuddle this stupidly smart pancake beside her.

For now, however, Sayori could settle with the role as temporary therapy pillow. When she was properly seated, she nudged her head against Goro's before calmly smiling at the fuming boy. "You went a bit too fast, Goro. Start from the beginning… How did tonight remind you of your mother?"

The poor detective spared a glance at the pink haired child, too mentally tired to so much as even blush. Instead, he focused on the earlier feeling of being drenched… trying to replace the sad feeling of loss he normally associated with it, with the old excitement of seeing his mother crossing the street.

"My mother and I used to play in the rain all the time when I was a kid…" The detective inwardly huffed to himself. "When she got home from work, whatever job she could hold down, she would spend any time she could with me. Her favorite spot was always that bridge that I took you too… said that it reminded her of home." Goro smiled at the memories, the few things that would get him through the years that would follow.

"She must have really loved you," Sayori hummed, leaning on her roommate's chest.

"She did…" Goro agreed, the smile losing some of its luster. It was a given fact that what followed her love only proved him as the burden he really was. Her love for her son caused her to give up so much, to the point that she couldn't give anymore. Subconsciously, he held Sayori a bit tighter.

"It's sad for me to think about… She died so far away from her own home. She came to Japan with hopes of getting a good education, and she left the world robbed of almost everything that had mattered most to her," Goro knew he was close to once again losing his temper.

Sayori knew this too, because she quickly made an attempt to keep his attentions off of this horrible source of misery. "Goro, tell me more… How did she spend her time with you?" Perhaps this could give her ideas of how to make him happy, if only for a short time.

Goro hesitated, wondering if the memories would hurt more if he spoke them, rather than simply thought about them in the privacy of his own mind, still slightly stuck in denial. "I do remember that she had an instrument from her homeland, but I don't remember what it was called. It was one of the few things she owned from the time before she had me. She would play it for me every night, explaining the history and meaning behind everything she performed… even had a song about the rain…"

Sayori didn't know exactly why… but she had a bad feeling about where he was going.

"One day, after she lost a particularly well paying job, she realized she had bills to pay, and a mouth to feed… and sold her instrument at a pawn shop."

A pit simultaneously dropped in both of their stomachs. Sayori's was out of horror, and Goro's out of grief.

"I think it was at that point that she really started to wear down. She became quieter, less hopeful about things, and sometimes would stare off into space for hours at a time… Then one day, she came home from work, acting happier than she had in months. I was relieved, unaware that she was only acting like that in order to give the best last day she could…" Goro finished that story, a final sad sigh escaping his lips. Sayori lightly patted his back, knowing it was something he had needed to say, even if this particular piece of information hurt.

"One more question?" Sayori asked quietly, already predicting what the answer was most likely going to be. She noticed Goro nodding slightly out of the corner of her eye, and steeled herself. For the most part, Sayori had figured out the answer to this question, but she still wanted to know for sure.

"Where was your father in all of this? Your mom obviously wouldn't have adopted you, if she was going to have so much trouble taking care of you. Yet it sounds like she took care of you all alone…" Sayori knew there was a reason Goro had yet to mention a father in this entire mess, and would have liked to leave the subject alone. But at the same time, she needed to know as much as Goro was willing to tell her, if she wanted to comfort him to the best of her ability.

Goro Akechi allowed the bare minimum of anger and frustration to enter his body. He was tired, and he didn't want to think about all of his own shitty mistake and tragedies that had lead him to this corner. Still, Sayori could at least hear the first part of how his father was absolute trash.

"My father… was scum of the Earth. My mother was only an intern at his place of work, and he wouldn't stop bugging her until… until…" The detective wanted to burrow into his own bed and never come out at this rate. He was honestly surprised at how easy it was for Sayori to keep him calm, almost to the point where he didn't want to kick his father's stupid face in.

"Until they had you?" Sayori questioned, hugging him tightly.

"Well, I think he was interested more in the part about having sex than he was the actual baby that would result out of it, but yes… When I came around, he stopped bugging her. By that, I mean he completely disappeared, leaving my mom with no other option but to drop out of school and fend for herself… And the rest is recently told history," Goro lightly grumbled. He would spare Sayori the horror stories of foster care, unless she asked questions.

He would tell her everything she wanted to know, up until the point that involved his current revenge scheme.

However, Sayori seemed satisfied enough with the answers she had gotten, and instead focused her attention on trying to make her beloved roommate feel better. Already a small, not well thought out plan was blooming in her mind for something she could do later. For now, though, she had a sure fire way to make the detective feel a bit less like dumpster leftovers, and more like the ace detective he was to her.

"I can see why you hate him…" Sayori murmured. "If it wasn't for the fact that it would be incredibly embarrassing for you to have to arrest me in public, I'd ask you to point him out in a crowd so I could have my way with him."

The detective almost smiled at that, but resisted. Aside from the fact that it was adorable how Sayori tried to look like an angry lion, only to fail miserably, there was also the fact that she wouldn't need to worry about doing anything to his father.

He already had his own plan worked out, for the most part.

"I can't really understand why he would disappear like that either. For one, considering how you are now, you must have been an adorable baby. I don't know how any sane man could say no to that," Sayori slightly teased.

This time Goro did blush, pleased by the compliment. He couldn't help but hold the girl even more tighter, if that were even possible.

"The other thing I don't get though, is how a man could act so selfishly…" Sayori could practically feel Goro nodding in agreement from her tightly held position. She decided to continue her explanation, wondering if this part would make any sense to the detective. "I mean, obviously your father had more money than your mother, and he was an actual worker, instead of just an intern. He was higher on the totem pole. Someone like that should feel that they have an obligation to help the ones who are weaker than them in that situation. Even if he couldn't have helped raise you, he should have at least provided financial support," Sayori began to ramble, knowing she probably sounded rather idealistic.

"He had different goals than my mother in that regard, ones that didn't align with having a family of any kind," Goro replied, his face darkening.

"Your father is stupid…" Sayori couldn't help but grumble. She know she sounded rather childish, a complete contrast to how she sounded only moments ago, but they both knew it was true. "If he held himself in such a high regard in order to achieve his goals, he should have held himself to a higher kindness as well…" _And also a higher level of common sense…_

Once again, Goro nodded. "I remember my mother once told me she decided to pay him a visit, asking him if he would be so kind to help provide a means for us to return to her home, so she could attend her grandfather's funeral, only for him to have security remove her from the premises…"

Sayori grit her teeth. If this guy was still around, she was going to tell the rest of the Phantom Thieves about this. Or if Goro made her promise not to tell anyone, she was going to march into the Metaverse herself, and probably scream at a wall for awhile. She would much rather face her roommate's trash dad in person, where she could scold and nag all she wanted, and actually have her face imprinted in the man's stupid, not functioning, brain.

"Sayori, you look even more grumpy than I do. Don't get any bad ideas," Goro scolded, completely serious.

Sayori took a few deep breaths, calming down. She then began to think about other things, things that did at least make her smile a little bit. "Whoever your dad is, you probably don't take after him at all. With all you're doing to help me, I think your mother is probably really happy."

Goro cringed, knowing how wrong that part of her assessment was. In one way, he supposed, she was right. His mother had been selectively kind to the people she trusted and liked, and standoffish to most others. Years of being taunted and mocked for being the best mother he could have hoped for had worn away her trust, as well. Still, that didn't mean he had no traits in common with his father. Their lack of mercy, as well as cunning, were the same.

That was enough to have in common with his father to make his mother incredibly disappointed from wherever her soul was trying to rest.

But Sayori still wasn't done with her own praise. "I really do mean it, Goro. These past few months have been so hard, for both of us. Yet, you've always done your best to be there for me, and make me happy. I can't help but think how much that must cause trouble for you," Sayori mumbled, recalling the shopping trips they frequently made.

Goro Akechi could hear his roommate as if she were shouting in his ear, despite how quietly she said that last part. "It's no trouble, Sayori," he quietly assured, putting on a kind smile. "As you said earlier, you are as much my guest, as you are my roommate. I should do my best to make sure you are comfortable staying with me."

"Well, now that I have a broader view of how things have been for you, and the fact that you haven't bothered to tell me this until now," Sayori couldn't help but roll her eyes slightly, "I can't help but think you've been pushing yourself too hard for my sake. I just want you to know that you don't have to do that for me. It makes me sad to see the ones I hold so close feel like that."

Sayori was misinterpreting things immensely. Goro needed to dispel those thoughts right away. Sighing, he slightly loosened his grip on the girl, getting ready to explain one last thing for the night. "I have a lot of things I'd rather not tell you, Sayori. There are secrets about me that I hope you never have to hear… But telling you this stuff is me trying to tell you how much I trust you, because I know when I ask, you won't tell a single soul about this… And it's also me trying to say how much I want you to trust me. I'll get you home, just like I said I would, and I'll keep you safe until then. And please believe me when I say this, but I care about you, Sayori. I care more about you, then I do most people…" Now it was his turn to ramble, blushing multiple shades of crimson as he did so. _I think she gets the point now, so why won't my mouth stop moving?_

Sayori giggled, amused by the detective's embarrassed antics. She had to admit, she did trust him, with most things. She still couldn't let go of her suspicions, because if he really was that dangerous black masked person everyone was worried about, she needed to consider the safety of her friends. Yet at the same time, she was so incredibly emotionally biased. _I'm basically the worst double agent in the history of double agents_. It was a bit of an issue, she supposed, that she cared so much for this guy… But she enjoyed looking at his dorky face too much to stop anytime soon.

Still, there was one thing she couldn't help but selfishly wonder…

Could she have both?

Sayori was confused who she was supposed to side with in this situation. But she wanted to believe she was making the right choice…

"One more question, before I go to bed?" Sayori asked hesitantly, spreading herself out on the couch.

Goro paused in his embarrassed mumblings, looking at Sayori with curiosity. He slowly nodded.

"About tonight…" Sayori thought back to the beautiful playset bridge, complete with a tragic backstory, about their final conversation of the night, and how much Goro was trying to assure he that he cared about her. "Was tonight… a date? I mean, do you consider it to be one?"

 _Yes!_ Goro Akechi desperately wanted to shout that, scream it even. He wanted Sayori to know what he was trying to get at with all of his stupid attempts at flirting, masked as a protective detective looking out for his roommate… But at the same time, there was another side to this he always kept in the back of his mind, her safety. While he was adamant in pursuing her romantically, Goro had never intended to let the public know in any way. While he trusted Sayori not to brag to the public, he didn't trust the people she would inevitably tell, simply to get her feelings out.

Either way, if the public ever found out that he had been out with a girl, in a way he considered to be a date no less, that would be one more thing others could hold over his head. Not to mention, Sayori would have an even harder time dealing with people. It was much better that Sayori stay under the radar, not only so she specifically wouldn't get caught, but also because the attention the public would give her would make things harder for her.

Sighing inwardly to himself, knowing he was about to disappoint Sayori, himself, and his long dead mother, Goro calmed himself down enough to answer. "No, Sayori… It wasn't a date. It was just… a friendly outing." He offered a small, very forced, smile, and began to head towards his bedroom, slouched the entire way.

Sayori felt disappointed for a moment, until she decided to take at least one more chance. She had already basically declared her crush for him anyway, with that question… What would one more be?

"Would you have liked if it had been a date?"

Goro Akechi froze, as if he hadn't considered at least mentioning that small bit of side information. He very much would have liked that. Glancing at Sayori, he weighed his options. While he could just say "Yes," like an actual functioning human being, he knew for a fact that he was far from functional. Not to mention, he had always been one for dramatics.

So instead, blushing the entire way back to a spot beside the couch, he planned what exactly he could do. Throwing caution to the wind was not something he trusted himself to do, knowing his track record with that was anything but good.

Sitting beside the couch, legs crossed, he made sure he was face to face with the now incredibly confused, embarrassed girl. Or maybe she was just stunned? It was hard to tell… He was slightly above her head, but it was close enough for his liking. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Sayori's arm was hanging limply off the side of the couch. He gently took her hand in his own.

At this point Sayori seemed to know where he was going with this, and nervously wondered what she should do. Should she lean forward? Any other action she could come up with seemed almost too direct, so she decided to go with that. Tilting her head slightly towards the detective, Sayori closed her eyes. She trusted him, and she wanted him to know that.

Goro looked at the girl's flaming face and smiled coyly. Judging by how tight her face was, she was obviously incredibly nervous. She expected so much, but he wasn't planning anything too special. Leaning in, he chose a particular spot on her cheek… Or maybe he should go for the forehead? Afterall, it was an odd fixation of Sayori's to mess with his hair, and her bangs were always in the way…

Finally, he made his decision.

* * *

 _So, how did it go?_

Ann's text came much later that night. She was probably expecting too much, and she knew it. However, if Sayori and Akechi made it to any bases in the weird baseball metaphor of love, it was best to give them all the time they needed.

 _You won the bet, Ann. Go to bed. I'll tell you guys about it tomorrow._ Sayori's reply came a little bit later, causing a huge smile to cross Ann's face.

Throwing her phone onto her night stand, Ann relaxed in her sheets. Summer had barely even begun, and already she felt that things were looking up. After she declared victory tomorrow, she would have to remember to arrange a spa day. The people who had helped her deserved a reward after all.

What would the summer bring next? If only they knew…

 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I suppose in story terms, there are a lot of events I could cover until it's finally time for Futaba's palace. However, aside from a confrontational dinner with Sae and Makoto, I have come up with nothing. So for the first chapter of 2019, I'm asking you, yes you, not the guy standing next to you, if you have any ideas for what I could cover, or have Sayori do, with the rest of the main cast. Please leave any ideas in the comments, possible with a review if you are able. I'll see all of you next week!**


	36. Chapter 35

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

"You have to give us more details then that, Sayori," Ann practically begged a few days later.

Makoto nodded in agreement. "Yeah… You kept everyone awake that night waiting for answers. Actually, I think most of us were already asleep by the time Ann texted us in excitement… But still!" Her attempt at guilt tripping Sayori was cut short by the girl giggling at them.

"There aren't any other details to share with you… Like I said, after we got home, we talked about things for awhile…" Sayori smiled fondly, before snickering at the memory of what happened next, "And then Goro kissed me on the forehead before running to his bedroom." It had honestly been adorable, how shy he had been after that. Sayori wanted to focus on that memory, because that would arguably be a better thing to divulge to her nosy partners in crime. However, the girls seemed to think otherwise.

"Well, what did you two talk about?" Ann continued to plead. She stubbornly planted her feet on the sidewalk, wanting to get something out of the pink haired girl.

"Sorry, Ann. That's not something I can share, because it's not just my conversation to tell," Sayori replied, doing her best to seem genuinely apologetic. "Anyway, I thought we were looking for gifts for everyone, including poor Makoto here, who wants a good outfit for sushi," Sayori decided to hastily change the subject.

"Well, if Ann would at least continue walking, I wouldn't mind talking while we shop," Makoto said, giving the model a pleading look.

Ann grumbled to herself before she resumed her pace. "Can you at least give us a hint about what you talked about? Please? My curiosity will not be quenched until you do… Meaning I won't stop bothering you about it," the blonde added, noting the resigned sigh Sayori heaved.

"Fine… One thing we talked about…" the girl rubbed her chin in thought. "…Musical instruments," Sayori said hesitantly. That was the only hint she would give them. In truth, it was also one of the many things she had been thinking about since last night, and one thing she definitely wanted to know more about. _I'll have to see if there is a way to get Goro to open up just a tiny bit more._

Ann and Makoto both had to quicken their pace as Sayori suddenly began to walk with a frustrated strut. Clearly Sayori had a lot of other things on her mind, much more than music at least. Little did they know she was basically on the same boat as them, in terms of not knowing things.

Sayori, in that moment, felt angry, and more importantly… helpless. Though she often chose to ignore the epiphany, in her heart, and in the back of her mind, the truth of the fake world she lived in was always there. This was a game, a game where the people she cared about most suffered so much… And although Sayori was a Phantom Thief, a part of a group of people trying to bring change to this broken world, the inevitable feeling that her life was not in her own hands gave her a certain sense of hopelessness as well. It was something that was plaguing her the more she focused on it, and no matter how hard she tried, she always found herself wandering about to it.

* * *

"You've been awfully quiet," Sae commented. "Is your weekly search failing once again?"

Goro looked up from his computer, groaning in frustration. "Yes, and no… There are a lot of things on my mind right now, honestly." It took everything in him not to slam the lid of his laptop shut. "I'm beginning to think checking is pointless. It's been months, and I haven't seen one person on this damned missing kids site post about Sayori. Or any of the other sites I've been looking at."

"It's important to be thorough," Sae hummed. "If I get a chance to get Makoto to leave the table for a little while, would you like me to ask Sayori about that?"

"I don't know," Goro muttered. "I check in with her constantly, and she always says the same thing… She doesn't remember." The detective leaned back in his seat. He was getting tired of writing about the lack of progress he was making on this case. The only thing that remotely convinced him that this case could be solved at this point was the flash drive.

Now that almost everyone in his workplace had tried to access its contents, and failed, he was keeping it safe in his apartment. Since it was from the metaverse, Goro felt more comfortable with it there, rather then filed away at the police station as evidence.

"Sae-san, you have continued to keep that promise, right?" He knew he was being paranoid, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Yes, I didn't tell anybody what the flash drive was for, or why you needed it to be investigated. Only Yaguchi and I even know about Sayori. I still don't understand why you don't want to let any of our superiors know about her, by the way. They might give you access to useful resources, if you let them know what you're investigating," Sae commented.

"That's an explanation for when our cases are all solved… both the mystery of Sayori, as well as the Phantom Thieves," Goro explained. He was keeping as many loose ends tied as possible at this point. If he had known earlier what Sayori would get herself involved in, he probably never would have mentioned her to Sae at all, or anybody, for that matter. He would be lucky if Sayori's stupid principal hadn't grown suspicious of the girl as well.

While he mulled over these thoughts, Sae grew impatient. "...Speaking of Sayori, I would appreciate if you would help me plan what I should ask her tonight. There are many things I could ask her at this point, and she'll probably be less hesitant to answer any hard questions if she knows you're okay with it. Despite how little progress you've made on this case, I think it's safe to say she trusts you," She commented, noticing how the detective cringed at her slight insult.

"Of course, Sae-san. I just need to check a few more things," Goro opened his laptop and began muttering to himself.

Sae gave her colleague a frustrated glare, before leaving for her own desk. They needed a new approach if they were going to solve these problems. Upon returning to her desk, she began mulling over any solutions. One thing she was sure of, was that all of this secrecy was only negatively affecting this case, as well as all of the emotional bias. That was one reason why she planned on talking with Sayori. She wanted to set an example for Goro Akechi. He could be friendly with Sayori as much as he wanted on his off time, but when he was investigating, he couldn't hold back.

It was harsh, but true. Sae sighed as she sat down and reviewed her own files on the Phantom Thieves. Taking out a piece of notebook paper, she began writing down important points of reference to bring up to the pink haired girl. When her page was nearly half full, a notification at the corner of her screen caught her eye.

 _What did Yaguchi find this time?_ Sae noted that the link did not come from the Phansite, but instead a tabloid.

The poor woman groaned.

While she knew Yaguchi was smart enough not to believe whatever trash the tabloids spewed out, it still annoyed her whenever he sent an article. It was just all the more proof that he was at least stupid enough to bother checking it out. Hesitantly, Sae took note of the very sarcastic message her coworker had left after the link.

 _I think it's time we had an intervention with "The Second Coming of the Detective Prince."_

Oh great, the article was about Akechi. If Sae had to make a guess, it was yet another article praising or berating him for his public stance on the Phantom Thieves. Yet, if Yaguchi was even bothering sending it to her… perhaps there was something of note. Sae took note of the personal level of shame she felt as she clicked on the link, reminding herself to complain about it later, and glanced at the link.

Looking at the article, she found herself only able to speak in groans for five minutes straight, which translated to, " _Please, can't some higher power answer why I've decided to surround myself with such idiots?"_ as well as, " _Akechi, you dumbass… What have you done?"_

* * *

"Sayori, what do you think of this blouse? The blue would look nice on Makoto… Don't you think?" Ann asked, holding up the article of clothing for Sayori to see.

"It's… nice," Sayori mumbled, not really looking up from her own browsing. Ann took one look at her and sighed.

"Sayori, is something wrong? We're supposed to be celebrating your emotional competence, but you hardly look excited anymore…" The model was concerned. How Sayori could switch between looking like the happiest cinnamon roll in the world, to a sad sack of drowned puppies in a matter of seconds was something Ann hoped she would never experience for herself. It was horrible to watch, and was probably terrible to go through.

Makoto peeked from behind her dressing room door, wondering why the influx of clothes that Ann had been piling up had stopped. _Ah, I see. What did Mai advise me to do in this situation again?_

"Sayori, there's work to do… Help me out, please?" Makoto requested. _When in doubt, get Sayori to help you with stuff. I hope this works even when not in a work setting…_

Sayori looked up in question. "What do you need, Makoto?" Ann seemed to snap out of her concern briefly, forgoing Sayori's opinion on the blouse and sliding it under the dressing room door.

"Ann, stop stabbing me with those hangers! Sayori, shouldn't you be looking for an outfit for yourself? I want my sister to have a good first impression of you. Maybe then she won't pry too much…" Makoto said this with her typical authoritative tone.

"Well, I would… But Ann seems to have planned all of my outfits until I graduate," Sayori jested.

Ann had no shame as she nodded. "Yeah! Sayori, you should definitely wear those white jeans I got you before we almost got kicked out of the mall," the model laughed. Sayori and Makoto were beginning to wonder if nearly getting kicked out of stores was something Ann was used to, judging by how relaxed she was about it.

"I don't know, Ann. Those things are so easy to stain, and I'm going out to eat," Sayori said hesitantly.

"Nonsense. If you get them stained, just let me see them. Trust me, I've gotten out a lot of stains from certain incidents while modelling…" These incidents were of course the times she snuck away for a few minutes to get crepes, only to spill them all over herself. Suffice to say, this was also why Ann didn't like high heels.

"And here I was, trying not to let the feeling that I have absolutely no control over my life continue to plague me on Emotional Competence Day," Sayori mumbled sarcastically. "Akira was so kind as to mark it down on his calendar after all."

 _I thought he called it "Akechi Finally Grew a Backbone" Day,_ Makoto thought to herself in confusion. However, she did not dwell on this thought, because Mai's tactic appeared to work. All Makoto had done was mention work, and now Sayori was talking about her problems… It was rather bizarre.

"Sayori, why do you feel like that all of a sudden? All the community service we do should be proof enough that we have plenty of control over our lives," Ann commented curiously.

"I know that… It's just…" Sayori bit her lip as she considered where to go with this. "That's another thing Goro and I talked about last night… sort of…"

"Related to musical instruments?" Makoto asked, stepping out to show off her final outfit choice.

"Y-Yeah, Makoto… Related to instruments…" Sayori sighed. "I like that outfit. I think it will look good for tonight…"

"Don't change the subject, Sayori," Ann coaxed gently. "What exactly did you talk about that made you so gloomy all of a sudden?"

Sayori clicked her tongue, cursing herself for saying anything in the first place. "I guess you could say we talked about… something that occurred in Goro's life, where he didn't have any control. He does a good job of hiding it, but I think it hurt him a lot." The girl couldn't help but remember how her roommate had grabbed her, how tense he was… And how, for a brief second, she felt terrified. Yet had she been scared _of_ him, or _for_ him?

There were so many things Sayori wanted to know now, and more than anything, she wanted to know why. She wanted to hear everything from the beginning, though she wasn't sure where the beginning was, or who she wanted to hear it from.

These disjointed musings were interrupted when Ann let out a small, somber chuckle. "He should join the club… We've got jackets."

Sayori felt annoyed for a brief moment, yet she couldn't find it in herself to voice this to Ann. The model hadn't meant anything by it anyway. "The day he joins us will probably be the day Ryuji and Morgana can go a day without being at each other's throats."

Makoto shrugged. "If I have anything to say about it, those two will learn to get along soon enough. We all need to be working together, afterall."

"So I'm guessing if I asked, you would probably say that you won't tell me what exactly Akechi's situation was, right?" Ann asked with a thoughtful look. Sayori confirmed this with a curt nod.

"That's too bad," Makoto hummed. "If it would have made you feel better, Sayori, I would have suggested we send in a request to the Phansite to have the cause of Akechi's situation receive a change of heart." The girl gave a very obvious wink, making Sayori smile sadly.

 _You can't change the heart of someone who is dead, though_ , Sayori thought regretfully. More than anything, Sayori wanted to know more about Goro, and his mother. In her mind, his father meant about as much as a used toothpick, better left behind in the dust.

"Thank you for the idea, Makoto, but that's not what I want right now. If Goro is hurting from this, then being there to comfort him is all I could wish for," Sayori said. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked to find Ann giving her a smirk.

"Sayori, if you ask me, you have plenty of control over your life to do that right now," Ann said dryly. "That's why after we are done with our shopping spree today, while I'm taking victory pictures of our loot to send to Akira, you should go to that apartment and _comfort_ him so hard! Kiss his scrapes! Lick his wounds!" The model pumped her fist in the air for effect, resembling an enthused cheerleader.

Makoto reemerged from the dressing room, carrying her chosen outfit over her arms. "Ann, why do I get the feeling that when you say _comfort_ , you really mean something else?"

Sayori's entire face went fire engine red in embarrassment. Bowing her head in immense shame, the pink haired girl grabbed her friend's by their wrists and dragged them to the checkout line.

"I am not having this conversation with either of you right now…"

* * *

"Goro Akechi, what kind of idiot gland is forming in your brain for you to be this slow?!" Sae screamed, dragging her fingers through her silver hair in exasperation.

Goro looked on in confusion, not knowing what was going on at all. "What? Is there something I'm missing as part of our case?"

"How about how you're a hypocritical, hormonal, idiotic, stupid detective of a teenager," Sae replied icily, listing out all of her insults on her fingers.

"Sae, I'm afraid that I don't know what you're talking about," the detective replied nervously, raising his arms in the air in an innocent gesture.

"Oh really?" Sae asked, opening her laptop, setting it down on Goro's desk. "It's all over every tabloid in the city, and before that, it was probably all over social media as well! Of all things, you could have at least thought to mention your unprofessional feelings for your client to me, so I could have prevented you from doing something so foolish in public!" The woman was now pointing at the very obvious photo that was the subject of the article, showing one Goro Akechi draping his jacket over Sayori.

"Bullshit!" Goro defended angrily. "It was cold, it was dark, and it was raining. My roommate was sopping wet. Honestly, the public backlash would have been worse if I hadn't given Sayori my jacket."

"So are you saying that this picture holds no water, Akechi-kun?" Sae questioned, her voice now a steady icy tone. "Come to think of it, for a long time now, you've been making a lot of comments about your guest that go beyond how one should view a client…"

"Sae, why are you asking me this?" Goro asked, feeling personally wounded. Where was the woman from not long ago, who had brought Sayori's name on the forum up to him, the woman who had offered her support so unconditionally to help him get Sayori back where she belonged?

"Because whether you like it or not, Goro Akechi, I need to make sure you don't mess things up. In case you don't remember, this girl is lost! She has amnesia! Not to mention, we have bigger fish to fry at the moment!" Sae replied, her voice becoming shrill.

"Do you think I don't know all of this?" The detective looked up to meet Sae's glare with his own. His voice now had a particular edge to it. "I'm not going to lie to you about this, Sae-san… I care about this girl more than I've cared about most people in my life… I freely admit that I've been pursuing a relationship with her, in fact."

Before Sae could get a word in edgewise, Goro Akechi was already giving his retort. "But don't think for a moment that I would let my feelings slow down my work, Sae-san. I have been juggling both of these cases for the past few months, as well as a few other things. For lack of a better term, I feel like shit because of it." The detective leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs. "I'll beg you if I have too… Please don't think poorly of me because of this."

Sae sighed, sitting down across from Goro with a small frown. "I suppose… As long as you don't let your feelings interfere with getting her home, I will be okay with this."

"I would never dream of doing something like that," the detective assured, relaxing in his chair almost instantly.

"However, this mess in the media is your responsibility to clean up. If you can't, I won't bother keeping my knowledge of Sayori secret anymore."

"Sae-san!"

"I mean it. I'm under a lot of pressure right now, Akechi-kun, and keeping this secret is just one more thing that I could do without on my plate," Sae sighed to herself, resting her chin on the desk. "I just sounded like a mom, didn't I? _I mean it_ , what kind of coworker says that to another coworker?" The poor woman laughed to herself.

"Believe me when I say I wouldn't really know about that, Sae-san," Goro replied, chuckling to himself. "When it's next brought up… I'll clean up this mess."

"I never fancied you as someone who would lie to the adoring public about your relationship with a girl, Akechi-kun."

"There are a lot of things you wouldn't assume about me that are true. Besides, it will just be a half truth, not a lie," the detective assured.

"Well, when Sayori inevitably breaks things off with you, either because she couldn't handle the strain of keeping her relationship with you a secret, or because she finally gets to go home, I'll see about getting you a nice sweater… and some ice cream to stain it with," Sae said, looking like she was about to pass out in her chair.

"I appreciate the offer. And when you quit your job out of frustration, perhaps I'll help you find a nice box to live in," Goro returned the jab.

"But first, we have to get through sushi," the woman replied, managing to get herself to stand up. "I still have a few things to do to get ready for tonight. If I send you a list of the things I want to ask tonight, can you send me advice on how to approach those topics?"

"Of course, Sae-san," Goro replied happily. "Don't forget to take a nap beforehand! You look like a dead body with your new eye bags!"

"All I'm hearing is coffee and makeup!"

* * *

"Alright, aside from the clothes we bought today, we should get something for everyone else too," Ann mumbled to herself. The three girls looked around in the shops, wondering what they should get the boys.

"Yusuke will be easy. I heard him saying something about some nice paints he didn't have money for," Sayori explained, trying to remember where they had seen those. "It's the least we can do since Akira gave you all of our recent earnings."

"At this point, I think we should honestly consider getting Yusuke a well paying job," Makoto muttered. "He never has money for _anything,_ and it's genuinely concerning."

"Well, he would probably quit at the first sign that it would interfere with his passion. For now, let's just see about getting him that paint," Ann said resolutely, adding the item to her mental list. "What about Ryuji, and Morgana?"

"And Akira," Sayori added. "If for nothing else other than to rub it in his face, we should get him something too!" The girls all chuckled. Ann was riding high with her wager. It was plainly obvious that she wouldn't be letting Akira hear the end of it any time soon.

"Sayori, I love the way you think," Ann hummed, looking in the store windows for gift ideas.

"Maybe we should find something educational for Ryuji," Makoto suggested. "He needs to take his studies a bit more seriously…"

Sayori, upon hearing that, jumped up and down, new idea in mind. "I remember seeing this one instructional book in a bookstore that Goro showed me. Maybe we can stop on the way home to get it?"

"That depends… What was it called?" Ann asked.

"The Secret Technique of Running Away, and Other Defensive Maneuvers," Sayori said, hands clasped to her chest. "Granted, I have no idea what any of that is referencing, but it seems like something Ryuji might like."

"He _is_ trying to get back into running… And as long as the book has plenty of pictures, he probably won't mind giving it a look," Ann thought out loud. "Sounds like a good idea. Hopefully the bookstore still have it when we stop by."

"As for Morgana, maybe we could get him something to make him feel more human?" Makoto wondered. "But it has to be his size, so he can actually use it."

"A good pillow to shove into Akira's bag sounds like a good idea," Sayori replied. "I can never help but think how uncomfortable it must be to sit in that bag for so long…"

"As for Akira, I think I'll just get him a coffee mug, with something snarky printed on it," Ann muttered. " _World's #1 Gambler (He helps to provide for everyone else with the money he loses)."_

"And that's everyone. Let's get this shopping done quickly so we can get home," Makoto said resolutely.

With that in mind, the girls all raced off. If it weren't for the fact that none of them were wearing masks, they would have looked just like their Phantom Thief alter egos.

* * *

"Goro!"

The detective looked up from his most recent book in curiosity, only to find Sayori had somehow managed to get from the front door to his side in under two seconds. It would have been terrifying, how fast she was, if he had chosen to dwell on it. However, it would have been a wasted effort to even consider doing so, because there were more pressing matters to attend to, one of them being the excitable pink haired girl pressed against him.

"Sayori! I assume you had fun today, judging by your attitude." The detective awkwardly wondered to himself what he should do. On the one hand, he could enjoy a very brief session of affection with Sayori. On the other, he could do the much more responsible and smarter thing of reminding her that they needed to get ready for her first meeting with Sae.

While he was considering this, Sayori noticed his hesitation and couldn't help but moan. "I did have fun, but I also really missed you, and-" Her affectionate, and only slightly manipulative, fawning was cut off as the detective wisely decided that a few minutes wouldn't hurt anybody.

"I honestly don't know how it's possible, Sayori. But somehow you're even more affectionate then you were yesterday," Goro murmured, leaning back on the couch.

"We were only still friends though, and besides, you're the one to talk," Sayori giggled. "You probably didn't even notice, but your arm practically gravitates to my waist now… And I thought you were shy last night."

Goro looked down, and noticed that Sayori was correct. His arm was wrapped tightly around her waist, and he began to wonder how long it had been there. The detectives lack of self control was concerning, because Sae had requested he at least be professional tonight. His grip began to loosen, only for Sayori to stubbornly shake her head.

"Goro, pay attention to me," the girl whined, causing the detective to sigh.

"When you're not being a depressed bundle of blankets, you really seem to enjoy the attention people give you," Goro teased, complying with the request for the moment.

"Don't lie to me, Goro! You like this more than I do. You just don't like admitting it," the girl huffed, slightly annoyed.

"That's true," he replied, leaning into her touch. "But considering the fact that Sae is picking us up tonight, I don't want to get too distracted. She already thinks I'm reverting back into being nothing more than a hormonal teenager."

"Why's that?" Sayori questioned.

"Oh, because he's very inept when it comes to dealing with his fans," A voice said from behind the front door.

The startled teenagers practically tripped over each other when they tried to stand up in shock.

"I literally got home ten minutes ago," Sayori groaned.

"Sae-san, why are you here early?" Goro asked calmly, a blush spreading across his face.

"About two minutes ago. You weren't responding to my work emails," Sae replied.

Goro released a long sigh. _I really need to start learning my lesson about this sort of thing._

 **You could probably attribute the last part to a recent epiphany I had of my own. Basically, a Korean comic I am fond of, Noblesse, which you may remember is partly the inspiration behind Sayori's thief outfit, ended recently. It's been running for about ten or eleven years, and although I was relatively new to it, it still stung quite a bit to read the epilogue.**

 **Anyway, it gave me a certain sense of mortality, and because of where we are in the timeline, I knew it was time to stop beating around the bush and finally get to the romantic relationship between the two main characters of this story's focus. The ending, as well as a few recent personal events, have made me feel a bit self conscious about my writing, in a strange way. So I welcome you to please read, review, and if you are ever interested, please check out Noblesse. I'll see you all next time!**


	37. Chapter 36

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

Sayori felt like she was choking from the awkward tension in the air. Everyone at the table seemed to be getting ready for something, Sayori being the only one that could only sit there and wait for the uncomfortable storm of question to hit full force. It was agony, and the girl found herself fiddling with everything. Multiple times, she nudged the small ponytail at the back of her head, wondering if it looked even, and readjusted the skirt of her dress and the tops of her socks. She had thrown on her clothes in a hurry, afterall. It would have been rude to keep Sae and the others waiting.

Meanwhile, Sae was calmly digging through her purse, looking for the questions she had so diligently written down. When she finally did find the small notebook, she went over it again, and again, deciding in what order to ask them, and which ones to scrap last minute.

Makoto was trying desperately to peek over her sister's shoulder, wanting to know exactly what the questions were in case Sayori needed help. However, whenever Sae or Goro glanced at her, she would have to settle in her seat and pretend like she wasn't doing anything suspicious or nosy.

Goro was the only one who seemed to be interested in the food the place had to offer. When he wasn't plopping food onto his plate in mammoth proportions, he occupied himself with the busy work of organizing the different seasonings that had been laid on the table beforehand. Sayori found herself growing jealous. The pit in her stomach had made her feel far too queasy to eat.

One silver lining of being faced directly across from what could be a ticking time bomb of suspicion and danger was that Goro was seated right next to her. Though she dared not to touch him in any way, the close proximity did something to comfort her. He had looked her straight in the eye and told her it was alright to lie to Sae about the Metaverse, and even if it was an indirect way of saying he wanted to save face and not have them sound crazy, it was still support that made Sayori feel better about sitting down to disable this bomb.

"So, Sayori…" Sae finally said, startling Sayori beyond reason. She had to resist the urge to jump up and run to the bathroom.

Instead, the pink haired girl took a deep breath, placing her usual cheerful smile in place. "Yes, Niijima-san?"

"Before we get to the main point of this outing, I would like to apologize for my behavior earlier. I did not mean to interrupt anything important, and I want to start off on good terms, with no negative feelings shared between us. Afterall, I'm sorry to say, but the things I'm asking you may be very sensitive," the silver haired woman had a rather bored expression as she said this, yet it somehow also looked genuine… Almost.

"There is nothing to be worried about, Niijima-san. I was just rather startled earlier. But may I ask, what do you mean by 'main point?' Goro simply told me that this was because you wanted to meet me," Sayori played dumb, resisting the urge to not-so-subtly wink.

Beside her, Goro's breath hitched, and he had to fight the urge to smile with pride. Instead, he kneeled his head down in shame, trying to make it look as if he had kept the main goal of this outing to himself. However, on the inside, he wanted to do nothing more than congratulate Sayori in all ways possible. _She's better than I thought she'd be_.

"You may call me Sae, for tonight. If it makes you feel more comfortable that is," Sae gave a small, kind smile, avoiding Sayori's second question entirely. Although the smile was painfully forced, Sayori _did_ feel a bit more encouraged.

Considering the memories of Makoto's that Sayori had peeked in on some time ago, the pink haired girl wanted Makoto to participate in this conversation as little as possible. Having to sit at the same table as people who had insulted you not too long ago had to be incredibly uncomfortable. This was a rather confusing subversion to Sayori, in a way. She normally wanted Makoto to be more engaging and sociable, and the fact that one of the people who had insulted her was Goro himself… Well, it was confusing. Makoto had remained in an uncomfortable mode of support ever since Mai had spilled the not-quite-a-secret secret. That was how most of the thieves seemed to be, except for Ann, of course. So Sayori would do her best to repay this kindness.

"Of course, Sae. Thank you," Sayori put on a rather forced smile of her own. "I suppose you'd like to take the lead in our conversation, then. It sounds rather urgent." Sae nodded in response to Sayori's words.

"Ask me anything, then. I'm an open book," Sayori responded, feigning confidence.

"Alright then… What do you know of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts?" Sae asked calmly, turning to a new page in her notebook to take notes.

"Hmm… That's hard to say," Sayori replied. To any outside view, it would look like Sayori was trying to gather up all of the information she had, when in actuality, she was deciding what to leave out. "I really don't know anymore than your average news report. I mean, I was there on the day all of those weird calling cards were posted on the school's bulletin board, but nothing really seemed to happen after that. The gym teacher disappeared for a few days, and then he came back in practical tears," Sayori gave her honest report on that incident, trying very hard not to squirm in discomfort. It was rather disheartening to know that even after all this time of not thinking about it, thinking about Kamoshida still gave her this ugly feeling inside.

Makoto actually did squirm in discomfort, not liking the memories of Kamoshida either. It was just one more thing that made her feel helpless… useless. At this point, she was about to beg Sae to move onto the next question. Glancing up from her spot, Makoto found what she thought to be rather unusual.

Goro Akechi's chair was now a good foot closer to Sayori's. The detective's arm had found what seemed to be a permanent home around Sayori's shoulders. The girl herself was holding his hand in gratitude, clinging onto his arm like how Makoto had seen many people hold onto their scarves in the windy season.

Sae noticed this too, raising her eyebrow, but choosing not to say anything about it. Instead, she moved onto the next question. "I see… Were you aware that your name appeared on the Phansite forum as well?"

"Yes…" Another shift of discomfort. "Goro told me."

"Do you know why your name was posted? And if so, can you say that it was accurate?"

"Yes, and yes," Sayori furrowed her eyebrows. "Not to be rude… But are you going somewhere with this? I feel like we are just reviewing things we already know…"

Sae hummed to herself in thought, writing the answers down, before sharing her own answer. "Yes, I am. This question might seem harder to answer. Do you have any idea who might have posted your name?"

Sayori only blinked in response to that. She thought for a good few minutes, crossing out the possibilities. Goro's breath hitched. He had wondering about this for quite some time. Had Sayori already figured it out?

"Well, no…" Sayori heard a disappointed sigh, not from Sae, but from the very clingy detective, who was still by her side. "Up until then, I hadn't told a single person at Shujin about my depression, or at least… not until after the post was made. The only people who could have had the slightest clue about that were my old friends… back home. And I'm sure you already know…"

"Hmm… Yes," Sae confirmed. "Perhaps later I can see if I can uncover anything about that particular part of your case…" Makoto gave a curious look at this, before giving a questioning look to Sayori, who avoided her gaze.

"Well… Would you say that the Phantom Thieves did change your heart?" Sae was paying extra special attention to this part, her inquisitive eyes picking up every single detail in body language. Makoto felt herself involuntarily tense up… a detail that was not unnoticed by a certain individual at the table.

"I would say that… Yes, they definitely changed my heart," Sayori fondly smiled. "While they didn't completely take it away… they at least fixed something that I felt… didn't really belong there from the beginning. Like… It wasn't always this bad. It's hard to describe."

"I think I understand," Sae said, thankfully waving the question away. "Now… last question about this… Do you have any ideas about how they changed your heart?"

Makoto looked back and forth between her sister and Sayori. Sayori herself was thinking very hard about her answer, and the Student Council President found that her mouth tasted very dry. Would she need to cut in? Should she do something? _What should she do?!_

Finally, Sayori looked up, gripping extra hard to the arm wrapped around her. It seemed to be a constant pillar as she simply smiled cheerfully. "I'm not really sure… All I remember about the experience of having my heart changed was that I woke up one day… and I felt infinitely lighter. The best way to describe it would be… being okay with not being okay."

This time it was Sae's turn to look disappointed. "I see…" The woman put her notepad into her purse and sighed. "I suppose we should eat then…"

Sayori nodded, turning to tell Goro that he could let go now, only to find his attention had drifted over to Makoto. Sayori allowed herself to follow his gaze, and felt herself froze.

Makoto looked rather pale and uncomfortable, an unusual state. Sayori knew that for the most part, Makoto always did her best to look cool under pressure, but for some reason, the girl looked absolutely shaken. Obviously, Makoto had been prepared to throw herself under the bus at any moment… A fact that Goro Akechi had found quite interesting.

"Makoto," the detective suddenly spoke up.

The girl snapped to attention, trying to get the worry to fade from her features. "What?" she said defensively, obviously not taking kindly to the detective.

"You look pale… You should drink some water," Goro asked. "You weren't even the one put on the spot, and yet you look absolutely panicked. You haven't even touched your plate." The detective had a calm tone to his voice, yet the dullness of it gave Sayori an unpleasant shiver.

"Oh…" Makoto tried to laugh it off. "It's possible I'm coming down with something. I pull a lot of all nighters to study for tests, and I have been feeling queasy lately."

"You should get some rest when we get home," Sae absently commented. The woman drank from her cup of tea and looked at her watch. "Most of this food is going to become leftovers at this point. We should hurry up and eat all of this."

Goro Akechi nodded in agreement, finally detaching himself from Sayori, now focused on his plate. Sayori noticed that there was a thoughtful, yet oddly cold look on his face.

Sayori had utterly lost her appetite.

* * *

"Sayori, you said that after the fact… You told your friends about your current state of mind, right?" Goro asked on the way back home.

"Yeah… Why?" Sayori asked nervously.

"Was that Makoto's first time hearing about it? I think she was taking it rather hard." The detective seemed almost uncomfortably casual about the entire thing, and Sayori found herself wishing he could stop being so aloof with her. It made everything feel too distant, when they were supposed to be close.

"Er… No. I've told Makoto about it before. I suppose she doesn't like having to talk about it again. Honestly, she probably just wanted to enjoy her night out with her sister, but Sae just kept asking me question after uncomfortable question, completely ignoring Makoto," Sayori hoped that would suffice as an explanation. She needed to keep her friends out of suspicion.

"I can see where she is coming from," Goro replied, unnaturally bright. "Being ignored is a horrible experience…"

The two continued walking for another couple of minutes, the detective breaking the silence once again.

"By any chance… Could you tell me what other friends you talked to… About your depression, I mean?" The detective stuttered, despite the fact that he was most comfortable in this situation. Sayori, on the other hand, had grown quite pale.

"Um… I told Mai…"

"The librarian?"

"Yeah," Sayori felt her chest tighten, pit forming in her very core.

"Anyone else?" Goro Akechi felt an incredible amount of guilt swelling up inside, but he excused himself in the end. This was necessary. Sayori was expecting this of him, as a detective. He would make up for it when they got to the apartment.

"Uh… Um…" Sayori felt her face grow hot. "I-I'm sorry… I can't really remember…" the girl replied lamely.

Goro Akechi sighed, wrapping his arm around Sayori's waist. "It's alright… Just tell me if you remember."

"Oh… Okay," Sayori nodded to herself in relief, instinctually leaning into the detective's embrace. If this horrible situation didn't make Sayori want to cry, it would have seemed funny.

Cuddling with someone who was trying to arrest your other friends wasn't how most people spend their weekend, after all.

* * *

"So, how did dinner with Makoto's sis go?" Ryuji asked nonchalantly.

Sayori seemed rather interested in her shoes, only answering because she didn't want anybody to panic at her silence. "I don't really know… I don't think she suspects me, or the rest of you… But there's still this awful pit in my stomach," Sayori hugged herself tightly, not liking the sensation at all.

"Maybe you ate some bad sushi?" Akira suggested, jokingly. From inside the boy's bag, Morgana protested heavily. The concept of sushi being bad did not sit well with the cat-like creature. Akira stubbornly kept the bag closed, not in the mood at the moment to hear Morgana whining.

"Perhaps it would be wise to talk about this with Akechi-kun, just to see if he has noticed any differences in Sae after your conversation with her," Yusuke suggested. The artist's attention was excitingly drawn to the passing scenery outside the subway window. "I believe we are almost at our destination."

The subway slowed to a halt, and the group was quick to leave. Morgana was getting rather sick of Akira forgetting to pay the petfare, and to avoid a news report about an angry cat attacking four teenagers, they had to get to the streets as quickly as possible.

"Morgana, the art museum doesn't allow pets either," Sayori pointed out. "Why did you want to come along anyway?"

"A thief should be knowledgeable of fine art. Our past experience with Madarame rather spoils my first time coming here, so revisiting might give all of us a better view," the cat replied wisely.

"Well why did I have to come?" Ryuji asked incredulously. "I'm not into all of that fine art stuff in the first place!"

"Because the flier Akira found said that a certain number of people have to come, or the discount won't work," Yusuke reminded him with a somber expression. "Believe me, if Ann and Makoto didn't already have prior engagements, they would have been invited instead."

"Just try not to say something stupid, Ryuji… That is, if you even have control over that sort of thing," Morgana said, causing the blonde to grit his teeth and growl. "If you can manage, maybe Yusuke won't ditch us for being the plebs we are."

"Speak for yourself, Morgana," Akira replied. "At the very least, Sayori and I are hardly plebs." The black haired boy gestured to himself and Sayori with a small smile. "We are thieves of the highest caliber," this part he whispered, giving everyone a small wink.

The art museum grew closer as the group walked, and Yusuke listened to the conversation behind him with a strained sigh. "Please… as long as none of you interrupt displays with pointless questions and comments that have nothing to do with the exhibit, I am sure I can manage to stand all of you." The artist started considering that it might be useful to give a lesson on etiquette just incase.

"Don't worry, Yusuke," Sayori assured. "It's been too long since I've spent time with you, so I'll keep myself in line." The girl made a show of crossing her heart, causing Yusuke to smile fondly.

"That makes me happy, Sayori. However, considering the fact that it has indeed been too long since we have hung out, aside from activities in Mementos, it would be nice to talk."

With that, the group was at the museum entrance. Akira paid for admission, being careful to avoid jostling his bag. As soon as they were inside, Morgana poked his head out slightly, enjoying the new scenery.

"They have a lot of different pieces," Akira observed, hand on his chin. He seemed to be taking a special interest in a stone monkey statue with ruby eyes. "This one has Akechi's charming smile." The black haired boy adjusted his glasses, before clamping his teeth and opening his mouth wide, mimicking the statue perfectly.

"Ah, dude!" Ryuji laughed. "That is awesome! I wish I could take pictures in here!" The boy slapped Akira on the back, causing Morgana to whine at being shaken.

Yusuke glared, directing Sayori to an inked design of a Sakura blossom, trying to get appropriate words together. "Yes, the museum wanted to get Madarame's pieces out quickly, so they had to replace it with a lot of other random displays. However, it looked rather clumsy for a long time. So I avoided visiting until now. I'm just glad they finally managed to put something together that is more aesthetically pleasing."

"Yes, because a monkey statue that looks straight out of an Indiana Jones movie is pleasing to the eye," Akira couldn't help but comment sarcastically. Sayori giggled after hearing that.

Yusuke looked absolutely dumbfounded. "Sayori, don't tell me you agree with them!"

"Not exactly…" Sayori replied with a sheepish smile, causing Yusuke to close his eyes, wondering if he should be concerned or relieved.

"I was thinking of that one kid show with monkey ninjas."

"Sayori!"

* * *

Yusuke was quick to have them leave the statue behind, determined to find a better place to look around. It was a shame that he had to leave the room with the ink painting behind, though. It might have been a good medium to apply to his own work.

 _There are probably a few more around here,_ Yusuke thought hopefully to himself. He looked beside him to find his friends were each distracted by different things.

Morgana was currently in the process of bossing Akira around, telling him to go this way and that way. It was a rather back and forth experience, and Yusuke could tell that Akira was enjoying every second of it (sarcasm intended). Ryuji was scanning the area for a vending machine, having given into the fact that this day at the museum was not going to be the most entertaining of spectacles, at least for him. He was switching between looking for a place to break his fast, and chatting with Sayori about any random topic that crossed his mind.

Sayori was the only one, aside from Yusuke, that was genuinely interested in the exhibit. However, it could be assumed that she was simply trying to distract herself from the bad feelings that had dominated her attention since her sushi outing the previous night. Akira had most certainly noticed this too, because in between demands from his whiny cat-like roommate, he was also trying to hold a conversation.

"Sayori, sorry if I accidentally offended you with that comment about the monkey statue earlier," Akira tried, casually passing by a particularly shiny gold ornament. Morgana peeled his head out, his eyes shining in captivation.

"Oh, it's alright, Akira. You guys don't have to like Goro for me to like him," Sayori responded cheerily. "Besides, his public smile does kind of look like a monkey's."

"Public smile?" Morgana asked, eyes briefly drawn away from the museum's contents.

"Yeah… It's subtle most of the time, but I have noticed he acts differently when he's in public, compared to when he's all alone," Sayori said, her smile starting to fade as she matched Yusuke's pace towards a row of paintings. "However, I can understand why he might do that. People strive to be well liked by others. Until I moved in with him, he lived alone… I-I can only imagine what circumstances he left, to be living by himself in a mediocre apartment at age seventeen."

"Sayori, how exactly do you know that the smile he gives you isn't just another fake smile?" Yusuke offhandedly questioned. He looked down at a small plaque of the painting he was studying, hoping for more information.

"Well, I suppose I can't know for sure… But I want to believe I'm making progress either way," Sayori mumbled. "Besides, I have enough fake ones myself, to know when one is even slightly real."

"Well, judgin' by the fact that you're the only girl that hangs around him… that doesn't make me want to barf," Ryuji began, "he's doing something right."

"That was very encouraging, Ryuji," Sayori replied dully. "Anyway… Yusuke, what exactly is the theme of the pieces in here?"

"I believe many of them were purchased from overseas by a local collector… from China, I think," Yusuke commented. "In simple terms, it's a more extreme version of a culture festival… they even have music pieces originating from there playing in a different area."

"I can see why you only wanted to come here now, Yusuke. They didn't spare a single detail," Akira smiled. "Also, Sayori… I see you trying to escape the subject. Because I caught you, you're going to stop doing that, and talk with us a bit more about your relationship issues-"

"When did I say I have issues?!" Sayori shouted defensively, alerting several bystanders to her presence.

Akira winced, putting a finger to his lips. Morgana grumbled about how thieves were supposed to be sneaky, before wisely tucking himself away into Akira's bag.

"None of us did, Sayori. I was just teasing you again… I'm sorry," The boy pushed up his glasses sheepishly, seeming genuinely apologetic.

Sayori sighed, before giving her friends a kind smile. "I know, and I'm sorry too. Honestly, ever since moving past our mutual friendship, I have honestly been worried about a lot of things… One of my main concerns is how none of you seem to like him. It's a shame, really. I think Goro needs more friends than the roommate he felt he was obligated to take in because of his own emotional… well, I don't think issue would be the right word. Emotional… hiccup?" The pink haired girl began to ponder her word choice, while her friends all glanced at her in amusement.

"Well, Akechi doesn't seem like the kind of dude I'd spend time with, unless I had to," Ryuji replied, causing Sayori to pout. "But I see what you're tryin' to say. He needs more friends, other than the one he's constantly mackin' on, and aside from the fake friends that are only there to give him a hand cramp from signin' autographs." Sayori blushed scarlet, causing the blonde to give a shit eating grin in her direction.

Yusuke winced. "I think there's a more elegant way to say that, Ryuji, but I do agree with you. I sadly don't see myself spending any time with Goro Akechi, unless he was accompanied by Sayori… Maybe." The artist, feeling rather uncomfortable with Sayori's piercing pout aimed at his back, went back to studying the pieces, pausing only to take notes in his sketchpad.

Sayori was still pouting as she looked at Akira expectantly. "I assume you feel the same way?"

"Well… Yeah," Akira shrugged. "I just can't help but get a feeling of irritation every time he's in my vicinity. Something just doesn't sit right whenever he's around… It's strange, honestly." The black haired boy looked thoughtful for a moment. "However, I suppose I can't really dislike him just because of a bad feeling. Besides, when I handed Ann her winnings, I made a strict vow that I wouldn't be so cynical of your relationship with him."

"It was mostly just to save his wallet," Morgana piped up from inside the bag, causing Akira to shake it. The cat grumbled after that, but said no more.

"It might be more easy to like him if I had more specific reasons for it," Akira theorized. "But for now, I'm choosing to tolerate him because I at least trust your judgement, Sayori. You said earlier that he was helping you with something important, afterall."

Sayori nodded in understanding. "Alright. I am fine with that. Is there anything else you would like to know?"

"Yeah, what's it like to make out with the Second Coming of the Detective Prince?" Ryuji suddenly piped up, having once again given up on finding anything interesting while everyone talked about more serious stuff.

Yusuke and Akira both looked at the blonde boy in horror, noticing out of the corner of their eye how Sayori seemed to be growing redder by the second. However, this wasn't the embarrassed shade of red… This was something else.

"Sayori, my dearest friend," Yusuke tried. "Why don't you come over here and look at the pretty flowers with me?" The lack of response from the pink haired girl was worrying, especially since he couldn't see her expression due to her bangs covering her face.

"Now he's done it," Morgana said snarkily. "We're going to get thrown out of the museum now. Meanwhile, the cat's theory that Ryuji only had one brain cell was further cemented by the blonde's lack of situational awareness.

Akira was the first to act, lightly poking the girl to see if steam would suddenly burst from her ears. "I think Sayori is going to spontaneously burst into flames soon. We should pull the fire alarm to cool her off," he jokingly suggested, only for Sayori to suddenly jerk forward.

"Ryuji…" she began, finally alerting the blonde to the very real danger he was in. The former track star began to back up, a panicked smile on his face.

"Sayori… I'm sorry. I didn't mean it," the boy was now backed into a corner, his hands raised in a defensive pose. "Come on, Sayori, this isn't the Metaverse. Do you really wanna cause a scene?"

"What?" The girl had an edge to her voice, her face still hidden by her hair. Now having cornered him, she looked up to reveal…

Her usual cheerful smile. "I just wanted to say that I haven't really… actually made out with Goro yet." The girl began to giggle. "You silly…"

The four boys sighed in relief.

"However…" Sayori's eyes flashed dangerously, making her smile seem rather creepy. The four once again tensed. "It's fair to warn you that you shouldn't assume things like that."

"Y-Yes, ma'am," Ryuji said, echoed by Akira, Yusuke, and finally Morgana.

With that said, Sayori skipped off to look at more art.

"Man… sometimes it feels like she's straight out of a horror movie."

"Let us only be thankful that she is too noble to actually act on any of the common tropes associated with that genre."

* * *

Sayori eventually found herself in another room, her attention caught by the unusually large paintings within it. _This might be something Yusuke would want to try._

The paintings were all different panels, stacked from side to side, or from top to bottom, creating one large picture. Another unique thing was that at least two of them that Sayori had seen so far told different parts of a story in each separate section. The precise line work directed the eyes through, and Sayori found all of them rather intriguing.

"It's like a giant comic book page," Sayori said absentmindedly, trying to rationalize her astonishment. She went to the nearest one, an up and down explosion of violet fire, showing a charred figure falling towards what looked to be a red fog. Upon further inspection, Sayori found that a few of the wind marks that the figure passed by were actually broken strings.

"Yusuke, look at this one!" Sayori shouted upon seeing the blue haired artist enter the room. "What do you think it's about?"

"Well, the plaque right by it… Is actually rather unnoticeable," Yusuke said with a frown. Going over to the small white podium with information, which was nearly hidden in the large painting's shadow, he read the name aloud. "'The Broken Angel's Descent.' It says here that although completed very recently, there is one panel at the bottom that is missing, which is supposed to represent a bittersweet irony that the supposed Hell the figure is falling towards will actually lead to better fortunes."

The artist looked up and grimaced at the painting. "It does seem rather incomplete… Though the poor lighting doesn't help it much. I would very much like to see it in its full potential. It would be much more relatable that way… Wouldn't you agree?" Yusuke glanced at Akira and Ryuji, who nodded in agreement.

"Neither of you any have any idea what I just said."

"Yup," Ryuji confirmed, Akira shyly nodding his head.

"I think the lighting of the room is trying to draw more attention to the work that's beside the door," Morgana spoke up. "Afterall, the position it's in would mean that you wouldn't notice it when you first step into the room."

"That's some rather irresponsible placement," Yusuke complained, turning around to glare at the painting that was trying to steal the attention from the one he was trying to enjoy most so far.

However, the thieving painting soon stole all of his attention away as well. Sayori noticed his stunned silence and followed the artist's gaze. She also became silent, her eyes widening and color draining from her cheeks. It was a similar reaction, but for a very different reason. _Oh dear…_

The right to left painting was of a bridge, which was very… _very_ similar to the small memorial bridge that Goro had shown her. An ancient looking robed woman was standing on the bridge holding an umbrella, the bridge itself having multiple branches of plum blossoms tangled up in its planks. As the story being displayed in the picture continued forward, the inside of Sayori's stomach seemed to turn inside out.

As time went on, the woman grew older. The blossoms wilted, and everything began to fall apart. However, the woman always had a patient look on her face, waiting for what… the painting didn't say. There was an overcast, gray background, the clouds showing very clearly the detail the painter had used with his time.

Gears began to turn in Sayori's mind, connecting a few puzzle pieces that, for only a few moments, she wished would remain separate. _Yusuke said this was probably Chinese… right?_

"Sayori, you ain't broken again… Are you?" Ryuji hesitantly tapped the girl on the shoulder. The girl nearly fell over from the new weight on her shoulder, barely managing to catch herself on time.

"I-I'm alright," Sayori assured. "I was just wondering, could one of you take me to the gift shop? I think Goro might like a postcard or something of this painting." Sayori gestured to the painting of the bridge, a small, hopeful smile on her face.

Akira groaned, about to immediately decline. He was already dangerously low on funds as it was. However, before he could utter a word, Ryuji stepped in.

"Sure, I'll take you. How hard could it be to find a single postcard anyway?" This caused Sayori to beam happily.

* * *

As it turned out, it was actually very difficult. There were three different racks of postcards. Each one was very disorganized from the museum's visitors not putting the merchandise back where they found it.

"Wouldn't it just suck if the painting was too large to put on one post card, so they had to put it on multiple?" Ryuji asked, half joking.

Hearing this, Sayori began to search through the racks even more frantically, a worried expression now on her face. Akira and Morgana were nearby, looking for the much wanted card from a distance.

"I'm just kiddin', Sayori! It would probably ruin the painting if they did that," Ryuji attempted to assure. Recalling a certain piece of advice his mother had given him a few days before… one that she gave quite often, the blonde attempted to find something to say that would slow the girl down.

"Y'know, you never actually did give any of the details of sushi last night. I'm sure Makoto will tell all of us about it tomorrow, but I'm thinking you're spin on how it went might be a little less worrying," Ryuji began with a light smirk. "Afterall, Makoto reads way too much into things sometimes.'

Sayori paused in her searching for a few moments, a sad, but thoughtful, look on her face. "It wasn't anything that would really seem intense from an outside view, but I couldn't help but feel like I was being probed half the time. I think Sae only blinked three times during the entire two hour trip to the restaurant…" Sayori hesitated before adding, "Of course, I was looking down most of the time, so she might have been blinking then, too."

"I wouldn't be surprised if Sae doesn't blink," Ryuji shrugged. "It's a random… but very real thought I can't get out of my head right now."

Sayori smiled, about to continue her report of the previous night, only for Ryuji to, regrettably, continue talking.

"Like… I'm just imaginin' her as some sort of reptile, unable to blink… So instead she just has to lick her eyes, or some shit," Ryuji seemed to be contemplating the universe as he spoke, and Sayori found herself genuinely concerned.

"Ryuji… are you okay?"

"Probably not."

"Well, at least he's being honest with himself," Morgana commented from within the bag. "Meanwhile, I just saw the post card you were looking for on the bottom of the middle rack."

Ryuji glared at the cat as Sayori squealed with joy.

"Mona, you piece of-"

"Yay! I found it!"

Sayori immediately went to the front counter, delicately placing the merchandise in front of the cashier. "Can you make sure you can't see it from inside the bag? I want it to be a surprise for when I get home," Sayori knew she didn't really need to explain her motivation, but did so anyway. She was way too excited for someone who had been remembering Sae's eyes drilling holes in her head only a few moments ago.

The cashier simply nodded, a bored expression on his face. He honestly couldn't care less what this dense girl said. He just wanted to get home, watch his favorite show about monkey ninjas, and forget about what his parents said about his lack of shame.

 _At least some of the customers can be pleasantly cute_ , he thought, eyeing Sayori up and down. The girl was waving to her multiple male friends, though, so he did not dare mention this thought out loud. However, the thought was now in the wild, setting off some sort of chain reaction that would not go unnoticed.

* * *

For the second time, Goro Akechi looked up from what he was doing. He clutched his pen tightly, right hand trembling as he closed the journal he was already filling up.

"There it is again… I feel incredibly angry all of a sudden…" The detective quickly checked his phone, wondering if he was getting yet another phone call, but there was nothing. Not even a single text notification had invaded his screen.

"I must really be losing it… I mean, I am talking to myself," Goro pondered, unable to write the feeling off as nothing. Taking a few deep breaths, he quickly tried to distract himself from the terribly tight feeling in his chest.

 _I really want to call Sayori for some reason. But I shouldn't, because she is enjoying time with friends…_

* * *

"Thank you, Ryuji. I really appreciate you buying this for me…" Sayori gushed. "However, was it really necessary for you to slam your money down on the table like that? You almost broke the counter… and the cashier seemed to have a heart attack." The girl clutched her hag, a confused gaze trained on her friends.

The four boys all gave each other knowing glances, before Ryuji simply nodded. "Yeah, definitely necessary. Let's just say I needed to get a point across. You could also say I'm doing Akechi a favor."

"Um… Okay…" Sayori said hesitantly. "I'll be sure to tell Goro that. Maybe he'll be grateful…" With that, the girl began her long trek home.

Akira and Yusuke both looked at Ryuji quizzically. "You handled that guy checking Sayori out rather well," the artist commented.

"I was literally five seconds away from breakin' his damn nose."

"I see," Akira replied, releasing a dry chuckle.

 **To clarify, none of the stuff in the art museum is based off of anything specific. So if any of you decide to review, I make no claims to accuracy in actual art. A web comic may or may not have been referenced, as well as a childhood television show favorite of mine, but most of it was rather random. Though I did try to make it accurate to things I have learned about China myself, because you might say it could be important. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please read, review, and I'll see you all next time!**


	38. Chapter 37

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

The world around her was quiet. Sure, the constant mumble and hum of the faceless people in the background was there, and vehicles on the street gave the impression of noise, but Sayori wasn't listening to any of it. The girl smiled softly to herself, breathing in her perceived calm. It was a not so rare moment where she felt an odd sense of peace, despite the constant circumstances that told her she should be refocusing her attentions on that horrible pit in her stomach.

So what if this was nothing more than the calm before a horrible storm? Storm clouds always passed…

Sayori refocused her attentions on the calm. Today had been a beautiful day. School was almost over, and she would soon have even more time to figure things out.

And she had a present for Goro. It was a small source of pride and happiness that she was giving him something, after all he had given to her. She hoped he would like it…

The quiet persisted as she crossed the final street and made it to the mediocre apartment building. This made Sayori's smile grow as she clutched her bag tighter, yet she refused to speed up. No way was she breaking this peaceful silence with the slightest loud noise.

Keeping this is mind, the pink haired girl made sure to be mindful of the stair that always seemed to creak when she stepped on it. Gripping the railing so she wouldn't fall, she carefully stepped right on the edge of the unstable ledge. Days of Phantom Thievery, as well as reading more than her fair share of adventure novels, had taught her that this was where the nails should be built in, meaning they would creak less.

After getting past the staircase, Sayori almost chided herself. Why was she being so silly? It didn't really matter if the stairs creaked… The calm silence of the evening wouldn't disappear that easily. Besides, she would have to make noise to open the door anyway.

Sayori hid the bag behind her, crossing her arms behind her in order to appear formal. Walking along the narrow carpeted hallway, the girl counted the doors until she reached their apartment. Goro would already be there, so the most she could do to surprise him with her present would be to hide it from his immediate sight. Reaching out one hand to grasp the doorknob, she stopped just shy of touching the metal.

The silence in the apartments was broken as Sayori heard her roommate practically growl something into his phone. _He must be getting into another argument with his boss…_

Sayori knew it wasn't really any of her business, but what they could be arguing about might be important. She was supposed to be gathering intelligence, afterall. Sayori carefully put her ear against the door, trying not to shift her weight too much and draw attention.

"This is a horrible idea… You already took enough risks when you faked that note… Quite terribly if I might add," Goro said this with attempted composure, his voice wobbly, as if he were caught between yelling and whining. It was very obvious from how far away he sounded that he was on the opposite side of the room. Sayori shut her eyes tightly… Whoever his boss was, it was obvious he must be some horrible cop. No wonder Goro didn't like him…

After a bit of silence, Goro spoke up again. "Those people are unreliable. Whatever message you want them to send will probably only make it easier for the Phantom Thieves to counterattack… But that's what you want, isn't it?" The detective sighed, and Sayori heard a loud thump. Goro was probably sitting somewhere, legs crossed… She could practically see the tired look in his eyes, she had already seen that expression so many times…

Before Sayori let herself get too far off track, she made sure to keep the more notable things in her mind. _This concerns the Phantom Thieves, and it's about delivering a message… Is his boss having other, unreliable people deliver this message because he failed to fake a note?_ Sayori stuck her tongue out slightly, squinting her eyes. Somehow, that didn't seem quite right to her.

Her body was beginning to ache from standing in one position for so long. By the time Goro spoke next, Sayori was almost ready to believe the call had ended. What she did hear, however, made her squirm in discomfort.

"Yes… Yes…" There was a long pause. "I understand…"

 _His voice seems so shaky!_ Sayori held her breath in contempt. A small part of her wanted to go in there and… do something! However, she couldn't interrupt the conversation… Just in case. Instead, she resolved to hug Goro Akechi as soon as she entered the apartment.

Clenching her fists, Sayori resisted the urge to press all of her weight into the door. She couldn't make noise… not yet.

After another long stretch of silence, Sayori heard one last thing that made her heart race. Any trace of Goro's palpable sadness was replaced by an unexpected gasp of gratitude. It was as if whoever was on the other side of the call had said something her detective desperately needed to hear, and somehow, Sayori could practically feel her fists curling at the mere notion. The pit in her stomach grew two sizes, and Sayori felt a rising bile in her throat. She didn't understand how a mere gasp could make her feel this way, when a crowd of raving fangirls had barely made her feel anything compared to this… this absolute horror and rage!

The girl trembled as she barely made out the sound of a small "Thank you" from her roommate. The call ended, and a long, shuddery sigh left the detective. Hearing this, Sayori forced herself to calm down.

She was going to enter the apartment.

She was going to find out what she wanted to know.

Not even that suffocating silence was going to stop her.

* * *

Goro Akechi was just about to get up from his chair when he heard the familiar creaking of the door. His blank stare did not go unnoticed by Sayori as she strode in, happy smile firmly in place, hands placed behind her back. He felt a strange relief upon seeing her, which made absolutely no sense. He was always happy to see her, but there was rarely any assurance that came with that. There was nothing she could really offer him that would fix this mess at the moment.

Though when the message was posted, who knows what would happen?

Sayori sat demurely on the couch, looking at him expectantly. It took the poor detective only a few seconds to realize she was waiting for him to join her, and yet those seconds felt like a lifetime each.

As soon as he took his place, Sayori immediately wrapped her arms around his shoulders, sighing contently into his side. Goro immediately felt his racing heart begin to slow down, and lightly hugged the girl back. One thing that became increasingly clear to them each day was how much cuddling seemed to agree with them.

Goro sighed, deep in thought, not noticing the way Sayori glanced up at him with slightly misty eyes. Soon enough, he would need to get his head back in the game. Sae was right, he couldn't let himself be swayed from his work, despite the work itself being something the woman wouldn't approve of.

Sayori continued to gaze up at him, his blank stare making him seem a million miles away, despite him being right next to her. The pink haired girl huffed, knowing she needed to get his attention so they could talk.

This thought process was what lead Goro to being knocked out of his daze by manner of Sayori tightening her grasp around him, constantly shifting her weight in his hold like a toddler trying to get comfortable… In short, she was fidgeting endlessly, which had a way of getting on the detective's nerves when he was trying to get some much needed, much better, attention.

"Sayori, is something wrong?" Goro asked blearily. Sayori finally ceased her fidgeting and leaned on his shoulder, not quite meeting his gaze.

"That's what I should be asking you. I probably could have walked into the room with a banana on my head and you wouldn't have noticed a thing," Sayori tried to make it sound like a joke, but the words were stale and forced.

"I'm sorry that I haven't been paying attention to you…" Goro began, a deep frown becoming more apparent on his features. "I just got off of the phone with my boss, and… Honestly, I'd rather not talk about it."

"I'm not upset about the lack of attention," Sayori began. "I'm more concerned with you… You're practically dead on your feet, Goro."

The detective couldn't help the wry smile at that comment. "I suppose that's an accurate interpretation, Sayori. I can say the same for you though…"

"You can?" Sayori felt confused. She was sure she was sleeping well these days. She rarely had nightmares these days, or even dreams for that matter.

"Yes, you're always so lost in thought, even more so than I am. With the way your eyelids droop, and how you look ready to slump over, I get the feeling you want to collapse on the couch half the time," The detective pointed this out, describing it with a few over exaggerated examples of his own. After arching his own back and squinting his eyes, Sayori lightly hit him.

"I'm not that bad!"

"Yes, you are," the detective laughed at the girl's pout. It was then that he noticed the bag hidden slightly by her back. "What's in the bag?"

"It was supposed to be a present from my day at the art museum, but I think you're too tired to receive it now," Sayori replied, getting up from the couch, a teasing smile on her face.

"If I'm awake enough to make-"

"Order," Sayori corrected, winking.

"If I'm awake enough to order dinner, I'm awake enough to see what your present is," Goro complied. Sayori seemed to think it over, before grinning. The detective humbly took the bag from her before sitting back down. Peeking into the bag, the detective noticed the large postcard immediately. He carefully took it out, examining the picture with wide eyes.

"Sayori, how thoughtful," the detective hummed slightly, looking at the picture with full knowledge that Sayori was doing something on purpose.

"Yeah, it made me think of you… and that night," Sayori replied hesitantly. "It made me think that there's still a lot I want to do while I'm here with you. But I don't think I can do any of it with how little I know…"

The detective froze in his seat, nervous about where the conversation was going. "What exactly do you want to know?"

Sayori bit her lip, pondering which questions she wanted to ask first. "I suppose I want to know a bit more about your mother. She seems so mysterious, and I can't help but wonder if it's because you didn't know that much about her yourself, or if it's just uncomfortable for you to talk about…" The girl would accept any answer the detective did or didn't give her. She was probably putting him on the spot.

"Why do you want to know that?" Goro asked, sounding almost relieved. "I honestly thought with the way I acted last night that you would want to know more about my fa-"

"He doesn't really matter to me, if he makes you so upset," Sayori interrupted. "I want to talk about something that might make you happier." The explanation was rather short and simple, and Sayori hoped she got her point across.

"I see," Goro knitted his brows, his mouth now a thin line. "What would you like to know?" This was definitely something better to think about. For the most part, thinking back to his mother are the only good memories he has, right beside the last few months at home, and then there was…

Sayori took a deep breath. "Was your mom from China?" The question came out in one breath, the girl walking on eggshells with every question she planned to ask. However, when she looked up, Sayori found Goro gazing at her with wide, impressed eyes.

"I am impressed it only took you glancing at an art piece to put something like that together… Yes, my mother was from China. I mainly know this because she took every free moment she had to teach me what she could about the culture…" Goro looked sad for a moment. "It often makes me think that one other reason she… did what she did, was homesickness. In the end, the only family she could turn to was me, and I was just a small child who couldn't do anything to help. I'm sure she knew that going home wouldn't have helped her situation at all, because her family would have had the same views of us as everyone here seemed to have, but it would have been better for her if she was close to them rather than stuck in an entirely different country…"

Sayori nodded, knowing that was probably true. "I see… And the instrument she played was something she brought with her from home, one of the only things…"

"Yes… The only other item was something that she gave to me, but I lost it a long time ago at a foster homes," Regret and anger flashed in his eyes for a brief moment. Sayori got the feeling that something else happened, something more than it simply being lost.

"What did the instrument look like?" Sayori asked, her voice full of sympathy.

"If you think you'll be able to find it, don't bother," The detective released a slight grunt. "I watched somebody buy it only a few short weeks after she died. That day isn't one I really like for a number of reasons."

Sayori got the feeling that she would want to finish asking these mother related questions soon. "I know… I'm just curious to see if I can find out what it is called."

The detective hesitated, ashamed at his own idiocy as to not remember the name of something so important. Finally, he put his hands above his head, lowering them down as if he were feeling the sides of the instrument itself. "It was long and thin, if I remember correctly. It was a string instrument made of a good quality wood. To play it, my mother would have to lay it out across a flat surface, and watching her pluck the strings almost made me think of the way someone sits down to play a piano… Or was it?" Goro slammed a frustrated hand on his forehead. He really should be thinking about work.

"Maybe I'll see if I can find out the name," Sayori replied cheerily, taking Goro's gloved hands in her own, giggling when he smiled back at her. "I appreciate you being willing to tell me so much. In return… How about I make dinner while you get some rest?"

"No."

"Why?" Sayori asked as Goro began to sweat a little.

"We're getting food delivered, remember?" The detective quickly reached his phone, dialing the number of a new restaurant he had heard about before Sayori could protest.

After the order was placed, Sayori leaned back on the cough with a grunt of disappointment. After another moment passed, she was back to clinging onto him, the silence somehow deafening. "I have a question about something else…"

"What is it?" Goro asked curiously, hugging her back tightly.

"You're boss is nice to you, right?"

"What do you mean?" The detective asked, confusion and concern on his face. Did she know something?

"It's just… Actually, it's probably nothing…" The girl seemed disappointed in herself. She could give away the fact that she was eavesdropping, but she couldn't do that until she did something with her new information. However, she did notice the way Goro's grasp seemed to tighten around her, his eyes vacant. Once again, he was deep in thought.

Sayori decided to let silence reign once more, and snuggled back into his arms.

 **Not much goes on in this chapter because I got a bit sick while writing it, but decided to post what I had down. Anyway, please read, review, and I'll see you all next time!**


	39. Chapter 38

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

"Valiant, watch your back!" Joker shouted, gloved hand pointing at the creeping shadow that had slowly been edging towards the girl. Sayori made haste, swivelling around and blocking the creature with her shield. When he was sure his teammate could handle herself, Joker directed his attention back towards his right, smirking as he made quick work of his own enemy.

"Looking cool, Joker," Mona shouted, causing Sayori to groan slightly.

 _How many times is he going to say that?_ It was annoying most times, though sometimes the pink-haired thief found it oddly endearing. _Still, "looking cool, Valiant, or Panther, or Fox, or literally anybody else" might be encouraging._

The snarky thought was brought to an abrupt halt as Sayori lifted her own mask, Psyche emerging to deal damage to the now crowding shadows. The deeper into this place they went, the more exhausting it became to continue forward. There was a poetic ring to it, Sayori supposed. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Joker, calm and collected, giving orders and occasional shouts of encouragement. He lead his band of thieves in the same way a composer leads his orchestra. The constant hand movements that he made as he talked (including the occasional lewd hand gesture to a beaten shadow) only added to the illusion.

Sayori watched their leader, and her other teammates, and felt an odd burst of pride. She was a part of this odd little group of thieves, and every day she was getting better. In the real world, Goro was there, and Sayori felt content knowing that she felt no burden in receiving his affection, and giving him her own. It had been so sudden at first, her change of heart. The unexpected lightness in her core had made her feel like she was drifting on the air itself. Though there were still times when the crushing weight of her false reality came back, heavy on her shoulders, it never seemed to stay. Clear and sunny skies were now her norm, and the occasional rain clouds held the promise of making flowers grow.

Sayori's thoughts stayed with her as she continued to deal damage to shadow after shadow. When they had cleared enough of a path for themselves, Mona turned into his bus form, and they continued moving forward. Mementos was a poem… or a complicated riddle. Every day they were closer to discovering the truth, the answer.

 _So close, and yet so far…_ Sayori's thoughts were interrupted by a snide remark from Ryuji.

He and Mona had been starting to get into more fights lately. It was a common occurrence during trips into Mementos… or whenever the two interacted, really. As far as she could tell, the only time they ever got along was during the actual battles, most of the time. Afterall, cooperation was required for that.

"I think we've gained enough ground for today," Akira announced. Everyone nodded in agreement, except for Morgana, since he couldn't really nod as a bus.

"Sayo- uh, Valiant, you want to come over later?" Ann asked, remembering last minute to use code names. "I was thinking we could do each other's nails. I asked Queen earlier, but she's busy _studying_ ," the red dressed thief stuck her tongue out playfully at their strategist.

Makoto shrugged, "School may almost be over, but I can't afford to lag behind. Besides, if you're inviting Valiant, we all know exactly what you two will be talking about."

"That's not fair!" Ann replied. "As if the only thing I have to talk about is dating and boys. Besides, I already got those two together. The fact that Joker only just got his his old amount of money back is proof of that."

Akira grumbled from the front seat, before taking a second to immaturely slam on the breaks. Everyone slammed into whatever was in front of them, and Morgana's hissing made the bus shudder and vibrate.

"Please refrain from doing that," Yusuke moaned. "Mona doesn't really have good seatbelts, and I'm trying not to reveal my identity as a Phantom Thief by having a permanent imprint of my mask on my face." The artist pointed dramatically at his head, where he had smacked it on the dashboard.

"Yeah, and I've already suffered enough from your road rage, Joker," Morgana remarked. The thieves all began to complain, except for a very frustrated Sayori. She hadn't appreciated the jolt anymore than the rest of them, but they would never leave if they continued to bicker and moan. With that, the black and gold clad thief glued a smile onto her face.

"Enough fighting," Sayori giggled. "Let's all just go home!"

Everyone grumbled their agreement, and Akira sheepishly apologized. Barely a second later, the dark red of the Metaverse blurred away.

* * *

 _I'm so tired_.

The thought came to Goro Akechi so suddenly, echoing through his being like a heartbeat. The detective sighed, leaning back in his chair. He had barely done anything that day, and yet the many burdens he carried weighed him down like an anvil. _I need to work…_

There were still so many things he needed to do. He had been progressing slower and slower with all of his plans. They were conflicting with each other, causing him to hesitate whenever he tried to move forward with one of them. There were two paths to journey down, but which one was more important right now? Opening his eyes, the light practically blinded him. One gloved hand reached out, grasping the new thing he had that most potently represented his turmoil.

 _This postcard…_

The picture of the bridge, of the woman on top who was waiting for something… anything, reminded him of the goals that ravaged his heart so. _Avenge her_ , the picture seemed to whisper. _Make the ones that are keeping her waiting suffer, for they are the ones who made her give up everything_. Akechi gulped… A deep, gaping, angry void making itself present inside of him. He should get it over with, shouldn't he? His very existence was supposed to be for that. He was going to fall eventually, so he might as well drag the one who deserves it down with him. Too many sacrifices had already been made for him to be getting cold feet now…

 _I truly am horrible, for thinking of them like that…_ This was a truth he had known for a long time. Those people, for his purposes, were best left viewed as objective, and for the longest time that was exactly how he looked at them. His cold empty void that had taken root in his heart had made it all but too easy to do it.

But things had been changing lately…

The girl who had given him this, she was making her way into his life like a herd of stampeding kittens. As odd as it sounded, it was the only way he could describe her. Well, there were many ways he could describe her, actually. The journal he had been trying to fill with objective facts to help her get home was being filled with them. There were times where she reminded him of his goals for revenge… of the women he was trying to avenge, but now he was starting to realize she was something completely different.

Sayori was Sayori, a childish young lady who made him feel like what he was supposed to be, a stupid teenager, and not the broken shell he always used to view himself as. Yet for all of her childishness, she was also wise beyond her years, often times not even realizing it for herself. She was a miracle, a childish, noble, complicated miracle.

Despite all of that though, he was trying to push her away, because she needed to go home. Goro Akechi stared at his now black computer screen with contempt. The stupid flash drive still wasn't opening for him, and he had no idea if it ever would… _Sayori needs to go home… needs to get away from me before my own stupidity crushes me, and crushes her too._

It was stupid, wasn't it?

He was too far gone to even truly enjoy her for the gift she was… treading water in a well, so deep in that if he looked up he could see stars during the day. Yet when he reached out, for something to keep himself from falling further, or something to boost himself up, or even to escape his situation entirely, the stone walls closed further in, crumbling in his grasp.

And he fell deeper into that lonely well. Perhaps it would be better to drown…

He needed something… anything… any sign to tell him where to go, or what to do next. He was a stupid teenager… That was how he had gotten into this mess. It was time to be mature about it. He shouldn't wallow in self pity with all of the other cruel miseries to be upset about, many of which he caused…

 _No!_ Akechi straightened in his chair, mentally scolding himself for his hypocrisy. He was supposed to be figuring things out right now! _Come on! Think, detective!_

His eyes scanned the growing pile of items on his desk. The postcard of the waiting woman, her patient loving gaze reminding him of things he could no longer change, waiting for him to either fall or persevere… with what, he had no way of knowing.

A journal filled with nothing but illusions, and a few stone cold facts that he had compiled from only knowing Sayori a few days… He had probably already picked her brain of any useful content… Except for…

Goro eyed the flash drive that was sticking tauntingly out of his computer. He had given up on any ideas of showing it to Sayori the moment he had known for certain that she was a Phantom Thief. Afterall. Her comrades couldn't know that what they had was a fake. He'd be discovered for sure. But maybe…

He remembered the strange occurrences that had surrounded the reveal of Sayori's Palace. There was something, or someone, waiting for him to figure something out. It hadn't intervened, but who could know for certain when its patience would run out? What were its intentions?

An untraceable person had left a message on the Phansite to tip off the Phantom Thieves, and him as well, for a note was left in the Palace by someone that was confident he would discover it… Was that a sign of some sort? These two occurrences could be connected… _Connected…_

The puzzle pieces were laying themselves out before him… he needed to put them together…

But first he needed to find Sayori. He knew his next course of action. No matter what path he decided to go down, his next step was clear. Goro Akechi grabbed his bike helmet and ran outside.

 _Find the Phantom Thieves!_

* * *

 _Things are about to become much more serious, yet I'm certain that was his plan all along._

 _The fun and relaxed days of the past are drawing to an end. My friend's fun in the sun… I wish it could have lasted longer._

 _Yet I've kept the rest of them waiting for far too long. I've let him toy and tease with those two to his heart's content, without so much of a reassurance that I will see the fruit of our deal._

 _He thinks he has all of the cards in his hand._

 _I'll just have to play dirty, and use the ones I have hidden up my sleeve._

* * *

After going their separate ways for the day, Sayori exited the subway practically skipping. She was incredibly tired, and felt like collapsing, but the satisfied feeling welling up inside her seemed to prohibit her from doing anything less than a leap of boundless joy.

 _Maybe it's just meant to be one of those days…_ Sayori thought to herself, her eyes trailing over the many sights of the cityscape around her. She was tempted to take out her phone and snap a picture of the afternoon sky, which would soon be turning a lovely shade of pink as it began its transition to evening. Perhaps Yusuke would appreciate it if she sent him a picture of that, but the artist would be able to see it well enough on his own. That would probably be how he would want to do it too.

Sayori's legs itched, but not in the way that needed to be physically scratched. Despite her exhaustion, she felt an unexplainable urge to be doing something in the lively background around her. But what to do?

The itch in her legs rose up to her nose, and before Sayori could help herself a small sneeze brought an immediate damper on her afternoon. The pink haired girl pouted. _Maybe it's just allergies… But wait… Do I even have allergies?_

So many questions she had, and such a suddenly topsy turvy afternoon that she barely even registered her name being called until Goro Akechi was waving a hand in front of her face.

"Say-or-i," the detective sounded out each syllable, as if she were a baby that still had trouble pronouncing the simplest of words. "Have you suddenly lost your hearing? Or perhaps I have simply lost my voice and have yet to realize it?"

Now knocked out of her stupor, Sayori glanced at the detective teasingly. "Your voice is like wind blowing softly through my ears, Goro. You are barely a whisper in my head."

"If that is so, perhaps I should consider cancelling my next interview?" The small smirk on the detective's face made Sayori laugh, despite the fact that she could see the intense look in his eyes that told her one thing. He needed to talk about something.

"Goro, you don't need to do that. I guess I was just lost in thought… and tired," Sayori explained, causing her roommate to nod in sympathy.

"What were you thinking about?" Goro asked, following Sayori's now distracted gaze to their surroundings.

The girl sighed, looking down at her feet shyly. "I was just thinking about how it's such a beautiful day, but I barely got to enjoy it today. Now I'm too tired to even bother entertaining the idea," Sayori said mournfully.

"Weren't you spending time with your friends today?" The detective asked innocently. "Did you just stay inside the entire time?"

Sayori thought sheepishly back to the darkly lit tunnels of Mementos. Technically, they _had_ started outside, near the subway, but that hardly counted, in Sayori's humble opinion.

Rather than complicate things by trying to explain this to her roommate, without actually telling him about her continued exploits in Mementos, the girl just nodded her head. "Yeah, we stayed inside most of the time."

Goro Akechi shook his head. He knew exactly where Sayori and her friends had been, but for Sayori's peace of mind he would play along. It could be helpful for his own purposes to do that anyway.

"I'll never understand it, Sayori. If you're going to go to all of the trouble of going to visit your friends and spend time with them, why stay inside so much?" The detective noticed Sayori blanch. She obviously hadn't thought through this particular lie very well.

"Um… Well… It's hard to explain… I figured it would be common sense, you know?' Sayori stuttered, only to suddenly feel like smacking herself in the forehead.

"No, I don't really think I would know…" Goro trailed off. His face looked as neutral and charming as ever, but his eyes betrayed the sadness, and… bitterness, that he felt with that remark.

Sayori felt a barely contained tightness in her chest as she desperately floundered for something to say… something to both still cover for her friends, and also stop her from offending Goro more than she already had.

The detective had just about finished collecting himself, ready to continue his part in the ruse, when he felt Sayori grasp his hand in her own. Goro felt that familiar content feeling he always seemed to get during moments like these. Even before they had finally each gotten over their fears, he had felt it, though it had so rarely been done in such a public place. After all, the last time had caused Sae to overreact, as so many adults did.

Before he could continue his thoughts, Sayori was meeting his eyes with that usual sweet smile that he had come to adore. "It's… it's sort of like how it is for us when we're at the apartment." The girl shook her head, as if to correct herself. "Well, not exactly like that," her giggles did nothing to mask her blush. "I mean, it's just that we never really seem to go anywhere besides that, because we never really need to. We're perfectly fine to just stay in and spend time together."

The detective nodded. "I can understand that. You simply like to enjoy your friends' company." He took a deep breath, knowing very well that he could continue to pick apart Sayori's lie with a "but perhaps you could have enjoyed your friends' company more outside." However, he didn't have the time or patience as he checked his phone and realized just how late it would be getting. He had to move onto his own topic of interest.

"Sayori, if that's the case, maybe your friends could come over to the apartment as well?"

Sayori physically froze at that statement. The corners of her lips curved upwards in a terrifying, nervous smile. "Y-You… Why would you want to do that?" She giggled nervously, hiding her suddenly shaking legs by kicking at a nearby pebble.

"Well, I was just thinking that I might enjoy some more company myself. Summer is, afterall, encroaching on us incredibly fast. Depending on how we choose to spend our time, it might get incredibly boring and lonely for me." _Oh, woe is me_ , Goro thought sarcastically to himself.

Sayori forced herself not to shudder, not liking the idea of her Phantom Thief friends meeting with the person investigating them for very long at all, yet knowing it was a perfectly reasonable thing for Goro to say. As far as she knew, she was probably this boy's first friend that wasn't a stuffed animal, or a bully that he mistook for a friend because, _Damn it, Goro. Those aren't friends and you need a hug so, so badly!_

As Sayori's inner logic clashed with her emotions in a deadly civil war, Goro Akechi watched nervously, finally beginning to think he might have caused a psychotic breakdown on the only person he really cared about.

He had obviously done something wrong here. Maybe he had been too fast to approach the topic? If that were the case, there wasn't much he could do to remedy the situation. If he tried to shrug it off, Sayori would feel guilty, but also relieved because he would have just solved the problem for her. If he tried to press the issue in any way, Sayori might grow suspicious.

In the end, Sayori would have to be the one to diffuse this turmoil of hers.

 _When in doubt, blame Ryuji_ , was a common saying of Morgana's. That was the first random thought in Sayori's head, and it gave her an idea.

"I'll have to let them decide on that. Sorry, Goro." Sayori already knew what everyone's response would be to such a request. She internally patted herself on the back.

Goro knew too, which was why he couldn't keep the frown off his face. It was obviously time to switch objectives. Now that they both had that matter settled, Sayori's attention had once again drifted to the quickly darkening sky, and the city around her, with a look of longing.

"So you said you're too tired. Luckily for you, Sayori, I am not," the detective grinned at Sayori, the girl having paused in her reverie to look at him in amusement.

"What are you getting at, Goro?" the girl laughed as he gripped her hand even tighter, walking her away from the subway that had been quickly attracting a crowd of curious onlookers, their busy body-selves wanting to know why the Second Coming of the Detective Prince was loitering with a girl.

"It's nothing special, but I just figured it's been awhile, and I do live to please," the detective replied, knowing he sounded like a braggart, all the while remaining as vague as possible. For this, Sayori lightly hit him on the shoulder.

"You meanie! Just tell me what it is!" Sayori tried to sound harsh, remembering how Natsuki used to act when she showed up to the club cranky. However, all of her efforts only made the detective smirk and laugh.

 _Right back to where we began_ , Goro thought nervously. It was a stroke of pure bad luck that the only place he could find a place to park his bike was on this street. Sayori definitely realized where they were too, for she looked immediately to her right, spotting the familiar bench.

"Oh," she said softly, noticing the bike chained to the nearby rack. "I suppose it has been a while… a while since we met, and a while since you took me biking." Sayori blushed at the memory, running her fingers through her pink hair nervously.

"Yeah. I think it would be a good way for you to look at the beautiful day without having to lift a finger," Goro responded, his hands on his hips, obviously very proud of himself.

"It really is perfect, but… how did you know I was having that problem?" Sayori asked, a teasing smile on her face. "Are you a psychic?"

The detective shook his head. "Oh, how I wish… But sadly no," He offered a hand, escorting her to the chained bike as a princess is escorted to her carriage.

"I am merely a very handsome detective, and this evening… your humble escort." Said detective plucked Sayori's bike helmet off of a bike handle as if picking a flower, offering it to her with that pleasant smile of his.

"Hmm… Yes, very humble, and handsome as well," Sayori played along, winking at the detective as she put the helmet on her head. She waited patiently for Goro to undo the chain on his bike, looking at the park bench. Something unfamiliar once again welled up inside of her, as if she were on the verge of hiccuping.

This was close to the place she had woken up, so scared and alone. Cold too. The thought of what might have happened before that, whatever had sent her so far from home, sent an involuntary shudder running up her spine.

And then she felt the familiar gloved hand on her shoulder, and she once again felt the welcoming warmth, snapping her out of her sad, scared musings. She coughed that hiccup sensation down, and turned her blue eyes away from the past to meet the red-brown ones of her present.

"Are you alright?" Goro asked, concern lacing his voice.

"Y-yeah. Never better." That odd feeling returned to her throat, and Sayori sheepishly looked away, ashamed of her stutter. She _was_ fine. Why did her body make her trick others with an impending hiccup?

Goro gave her that look, as if he didn't quite believe her, before turning his attention back to his bike, taking a second to strap on his own helmet. "Maybe a bike ride home will make you feel better? Though I advise you not to talk too much. Forgive me, but I probably won't really be listening too much."

"Like I'd want to distract the driver," Sayori joked, nodding in understanding at the detective's statement.

"In that case…" Goro Akechi grinned, before helping Sayori onto the bike. When they were situated the way they liked, Sayori on the bike seat, holding onto the back of Goro's waist, with him standing to pedal, the detective _finally_ turned to her to finish his statement.

"Just enjoy the scenery."

And they were off.

Sayori clung tightly to his waist. _This definitely isn't safe,_ she thought to herself.

Goro's feet were practically a blur as he peddled, years of experience aiding him in going as fast as he needed. They would probably be home before the sun completely set for the night, and it was already starting to dip below the horizon. The slight wind caused by the speed whipped the hair not contained in their helmets, and, as if on cue, Goro laughed at the sensation.

So Sayori laughed too. They were leaving that street behind, for which she was grateful. Attempting to lean her head forward, the girl decided to take her roommate's advice and began to study the slightly blurred city.

People were closing and opening stores for the night, rearranging displays in the front windows, and hanging new posters. Others walked the street, either preparing to head home and get some long awaited rest, or looking refreshed ready to start their nightly commute. City lights blinked, disorienting Sayori. So much so, that for a split second she thought she saw her homeroom teacher walking the streets, dressed in a maid costume of all things. The thought made Sayori laugh even harder. All of this she had seen in only a few streets.

 _This is definitely the way to travel_ , Sayori sighed as the light breeze continued to hit her face. She could hear Goro above her, panting slightly with the exertion of his fast-moving legs, and hugged him tighter. Her motivation made the tired boy's red face go even redder from embarrassment, yet he smiled all the same.

Sayori smiled too, having forgotten the hiccup feeling riding in her chest and throughout her throat, which had sense then spread through her entire body in the form of an off light numbness. It went first through her arms, spreading all the way to the the tips of her fingers, before travelling down through her stomach, down her legs, and then finally her right big toe. It was like a wire, pulled so taught that one small touch would cause it to snap.

And then Goro Akechi turned the street.

Sayori's laughter turned into a soundless gasp. It would have been a horrified shriek, if not for the fact that for a split second, her vocal chords, along with the rest of her body, had blinked and winked out of existence.

* * *

The second Goro felt the arms around his waist vanish, he immediately pulled the brakes on his bike. He tightly gripped the handle brakes, feeling his knuckles turn bone white, before he quickly attempted to peddle backwards and completely stop the bicycle. The force which he used caused the bike to skid across the street, and for a second he thought he was going to go flying off,but thankfully it stopped without incident.

 _Did she fall off?_ The brown haired boy panicked, silently berating himself as he looked behind himself further down the street, searching for the familiar pink hair.

"Goro…" A weak voice said from below him.

The detective's eyes snapped down to find Sayori exactly where he had left her, as if he had never felt her leave. She had a stunned look in her eyes, and her skin was especially pale. Her normally sweet smile was replaced by a thin line, a grimace if he ever saw one.

 _Maybe she just let go of my waist for a second?_ The detective quietly tried to reason with himself, even as the more observant side of him argued. For a split second, the bike had felt _lighter_ than it should have. Perhaps he had hit a bump in the road and just hadn't noticed?

"G-Goro," Sayori began to sniffle, and the detective felt like jumping off of a bridge. He could entertain thoughts about what had happened later.

"It's alright… You're alright, Sayori. W-We are almost home…" Goro Akechi could feel the panic in himself rising. They were definitely _not_ almost home, at least not by walking distance, and there was no way he was going to continue riding when this had just happened. No, he needed to keep an eye on Sayori until they got home, and he could figure out what was going on.

"No…" Tears began to fall down her face, making the detective blanch.

"Sayori, I need you to calm down and tell me what's wrong." Goro quickly put the kickstand down, rolling the bike onto the sidewalk. When he was sure it was steady, he quickly and carefully helped the crying girl off, wrapping her in a hug the moment she got off.

Sayori began to whimper and mumble, and an indescribable fear began to take root in Goro Akechi's heart. The last few functioning brain cells in his head were now in a turmoil, trying to figure out what was wrong so he could fix it. Was she sick, was that what all this was about? Did she have some indescribable, incurable disease that she should be in the hospital for, meanwhile he had been keeping her in his ill equipped apartment this entire time? Or maybe something had attacked her in the Metaverse and he had just been too dense to notice? Yet, there was also the possibility that-

"Goro, stop… stop shaking," Sayori finally managed to say, hugging the now trembling boy just as tightly.

"Sayori!" the detective, thoroughly panicked, began to inspect the girl, somehow managing not to break the hug all the while. "Are you okay?"

"I'm…" Sayori struggled to meet his gaze, placing a hand over her chest as she thought deeply. "I'm fine now, Goro. Let's just get out of here before it gets too dark."

"A-alright," the detective said, propping up his kickstand and bringing the handlebars to his side. He would just to walk it home, chain it up, burn it for causing such a ruckus, and then-

"Goro, you're shaking again," Sayori pointed out, frowning at the carefully masked distraught look on the boy's face.

"S-So I am. We should best get going then, Sayori."

"Yeah… I guess we should."

Both of them had the same panicked thought as they walked down the street.

What had happened? And why now, when everything had felt so perfect?

* * *

The next day, Sayori arrived at the library for her normal duties. Yet, today didn't seem normal. After the strangeness that was last night with Akechi, nothing felt right anymore. Sayori felt as though her body could fall apart at any moment, but she didn't know why. It was a fear that flowed through her entire being. For a moment, though, she would be distracted from this fear by a familiar voice.

"Hey, Sayori! What's up?" Mai was sitting at the desk, same as ever.

"Uh, nothing much. It's just… a normal day," Sayori replied, brushing her hair out of her face nervously. It was obvious to the librarian that she was hiding something.

"It sure doesn't sound like it. You sound like you're gonna have a freak-out or something," said Mai, concerned.

"Y'know, I just might. You never know," grumbled Sayori.

Mai was surprised by this. Sayori was usually the one who would backtrack from any hints towards her own misfortune, so to hear her not try to hide her feelings was certainly different. "Huh. Well, uh… I hope you get better, then."

Sayori looked over at Mai for a moment, but couldn't bring herself to keep looking. "Yeah, yeah, me too."

Mai's concern levels began to rise, inspiring her to inquire further. "Soooo... any news?"

Sayori took a deep breath. "Nothing. No news, no updates about getting home, no nothing," she said, dejectedly.

Hearing this made Mai feel a strange tension throughout her entire body. For a fleeting moment, she felt compelled to straighten her unkempt hair, but she stopped herself. Something inside was telling her to make a move.

"Hey, Sayori… how's the situation with Goro?" Mai asked calmly.

"The situation, huh? That's an unusually big word for you. Well, the situation is no good at all either. I scared him and myself half to death last night, and then had to spend an hour walking home with him miserable and freezing cold. It wasn't even cold, so why did it feel that way!?" Sayori looked as though she was about to have a breakdown. She wa beginning to wonder if she was delusional.

"Are you feeling okay, Sayori? Do you need medical attention?" asked Mai with legitimate concern.

"No, I don't! I just need… I don't know what I need. I don't know anything anymore."

Mai moved over and started to comb her fingers through Sayori's frazzled hair, humming a soft tune. "Well, I'd say that you need a rest, and maybe a break from all of the ridiculousness going on. You've got a new boyfriend, a new school, a new everything. Maybe you should try and slow down."

Sayori raised her hands to her head in agitation. "But I've been here for months! I should be used to all of this!"

"You're clearly not. I don't know what you can do, but all I can tell you is that you need rest, okay? Perhaps a break from all of the romance would do you well," replied Mai, as if giving a lecture.

Sayori looked over at Mai in disbelief. "Romance… What are you talking about? Goro's been one of the best things to happen to me during this whole mess. Why would I ever do that?"

Mai smiled. "I'm just saying, it's an option." She began to look away at nothing in particular. "I remember I used to know a boy who I loved very much, and my entire life changed because of him. It was a lot of… well, a lot of drama. It probably wasn't worth it, really. All of the stress, you know? So, maybe you're going through the same thing."

"You had a boyfriend, huh? Color me surprised."

Mai pouted, obviously offended. "Rude. I'm trying to give you advice, Sayori. When you get out of here, get some rest, and maybe tomorrow you'll have a clearer head. Then, you can find your path again."

"I guess… Thanks, Mai. I'll see about getting some rest tonight. You're a big help." A hint of the signature Sayori smile began to creep back onto her face.

"I'm glad to hear it," Mai said with a comforting grin.

"Say, Mai… How come you're so much more formal today?" asked Sayori, giving Mai a puzzled expression

"Oh, it's just, uh… my motherly intuition! You needed my help, so I got into that mode," laughed Mai, putting her hands up nervously

"Well, I'm happy for it. You've made me feel much better."

"That's wonderful to hear!"

 _Yes, wonderful indeed..._

* * *

" _These are the details of the message that are posted on Medjed's website."_

Sayori had been lounging on the apartment couch, attempting to enjoy a restful, homework-less Monday evening to herself while Goro was at his interview, when the announcement had been made. _Message?!_ Yet another puzzle piece was being placed in front of her, one that Sayori would inspect closer when she heard the message in its entirety.

" _To the Phantom Thieves causing an uproar in Japan: Do not speak of your false justice. We do not need the spread of such falsehood. We are the true executors of justice."_

Sayori could only roll her eyes. Not at the direct attack on her teammates, no. She could do that later in the security of their company. She was in actuality rolling them in response to the poorly executed message. _So much "false" and "justice." Don't repeat yourself! It's not only repetitive, it's redundant, and people have heard it before._

Yes, the Phantom Thieves had heard it plenty of times before, but they were steady in their belief that they could make a difference. Yet, this time Sayori had a feeling this might be a serious threat. In that case, she needed to keep listening to this tripe.

" _However, we are magnanimous. We will give you an opportunity to repent your ways."_

 _Magnanimous… Now there's a twenty dollar word,_ Sayori thought to herself with a smile. Maybe they wouldn't need to educate Medjed about Language Arts, along with the fact that the Phantom Thieves _were_ helpful on most occasions.

" _If you agree to a change of heart, we will accept you as our own. If you reject our offer, the hammer of justice will find you."_

Sayori released a low and angry groan. _What a horrible, horrible message._ Not only concerning, but also they were still being repetitive!

" _We are Medjed. We are unseen. We will eliminate evil._ Akechi-san, why do you think this announcement was made at this time?" The interviewer looked to the brown haired detective, and the camera view flipped to Goro's face as well.

Sayori was beginning to wish she had taken notes on the conversation she had overheard. If these two things were linked, this might be something she could better report to her friends if she needed to.

"I don't know the details, but there's no doubt they were provoked by the Phantom Thieves. Whether it's a sense of rivalry or a simple attention grab given the recent trends, I cannot say…" His voice sounded so neutral and honest. Sayori really did want to believe these two things had nothing to do with each other. However, the timing couldn't be denied.

"Regardless, it's quite a nuisance." Sayori heard that sentence and released a sigh. She knew that at least a part of it was only to uphold appearances, but still… It always made her feel awful when this part of his interviews would begin. The message now over, Sayori turned the volume on the TV down and got out her phone. She would just have to see the message for herself. Maybe she could find a way to read between the lines and get even more information.

All the while, the girl kept one ear open to the TV. The Phantom Thieves would definitely be discussing this tonight, and she needed to be prepared.

* * *

Sayori sighed, leaning back tiredly. An empty and sad feeling riddled her core after the discussion. She decided to name it _epic failure_.

She hated having to use a chatroom to communicate their ideas. Everyone had been so excited about the new target, she felt like she had no room to mention that it might be a bad idea. When she did mention the idea, they had simply waved it off. Afterall, they had to keep up _appearances_.

Sayori scowled an uncharacteristic scowl. She hated that word even more. Goro's boss, whatever kind of corrupt cop he might be to have contact with a bunch of "crackers," according to Makoto, had obviously thought through more than she and Goro had originally assumed. The Phantom Thieves had accepted Medjed's challenge, and might fall into their trap hook, line, and sinker.

Sayori shook her head. She did better when she was face to face with her team. Tomorrow, she would definitely tell them about a few of her suspicions.

* * *

"Hey, your phone was buzzing earlier."

Akira was briefly awoken from the malaise of school life by Morgana. He opened his phone, finding himself surprised to see a mass of notifications lined up.

 _I've gotten a lot of messages from an unknown account…_

Akira was shocked upon opening these messages. A strange, cat-like icon appeared on his direct messages, one that he had never seen before.

"Nice to meet you. I am the one they call Alibaba. I want to ask you something."

 _Who is this? Are they related to Medjed?_

"You're a phantom thief, aren't you? Can you really steal hearts?"

 _What!?_

"There is someone whose heart I would like you to steal. But I'm not asking for charity. Let's make a deal. You wish to know about Medjed, correct? I can give you information on them if the change of heart is successful."

 _Information, huh…_

"If you so desire, I can take them out as well. Do you believe in my skills? I can track down their accounts as well, just as I have with yours. I've prepared the necessary tool on my end. Look forward to it."

Akira attempted to respond, but couldn't. All that would appear was an error message. Alibaba had disappeared.

 **And we are back. I hope you all enjoyed the new chapter as much as I had fun writing it. It was amazing to get back into after so many weeks. I encourage you to please read, and review. The schedule is going to be slowed down a bit, but trust me when I say it will be for the best. I'll see you all next time!**


	40. Chapter 39

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

At the police station, Goro Akechi was typing away furiously on his work computer. The furrow in his eyebrows, and his mouth, now nothing more than a thin line, clear indicators of his frustration. Anyone at the station other than Sae would have guessed that it was simply because he was making little progress catching the Phantom Thieves. However, Sae was a bit more understanding. That is, if you could call "thinking the famous and renowned Second Coming of the Detective Prince to be an idiotic bag of hormones and unimportant issues" understanding.

"Trouble in paradise?" Sae asked, peeking over the detective's shoulder to see multiple tabs open. This included, but was not limited to, a site that sold high quality bikes (and bike parts), yet another missing kids/teenagers website with the search engine full of increasingly desperate keywords, and an unreliable medical website which held the current diagnosis that Goro Akechi had a permanent concussion from being dropped on his head as a baby. Sae wouldn't be surprised if that were accurate.

"I thought she fell off my _bike_!" Goro shouted, the last part coming out as a yelp akin to a fox with its paw caught in a trap. He pulled on his hair tightly, beginning what was sure to be another overdramatic mope. "But then it turned out she was right behind me all along, and I almost made us crash for no reason. I could have sworn she let go, and the bike even felt lighter, but she was still _right there_!"

Sae looked down at the detective in concerned silence, her eyes widening just barely. Setting down her recently obtained coffee, she awkwardly patted the boy on the shoulder. "There, there," she said, in what she knew to be a pathetically monotone voice.

Despite the horrible composition of her attempt at comfort, the detective relished in it, taking several deep breaths. _Sayori is definitely better at this, but I'll take what I can get,_ Goro Akechi thought wryly to himself. He would keep that thought to himself, because Sae offered the much needed opportunity for a subject change.

"The coffee smells lovely Sae-san. I'm sorry I haven't been doing as much as I could to help you with the Phantom Thieves by the way…"

Sae blinked slowly, once, twice, and finally a third time, before finally shrugging it off. Her comforting tactic had worked! Not that she was surprised, of course. It always worked with Makoto, afterall. Turning her mind from her success at comforting the teenager, Sae picked up the coffee and took another sip, only to grimace at the taste.

"Thank you, though it's not much in comparison to the kind I normally have," the woman replied regretfully. "And don't worry, it's not like I expect much from you in this state."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you're being a typical teenager. You should be proud. You're a real boy now!"

Goro scowled. "I'm not Pinocchio!" he replied with no small amount of venom in his voice. He crossed his arms and pouted, turning back to his computer. "If you only came here to insult me, I'd suggest you consider taking a walk… a long walk, preferably off of a short pier." He began furiously typing once again, his mind already drifting away from the work he was _supposed_ to be doing.

Sae sighed, rolling her eyes. "Believe it or not, I actually do need your help with something. It's about a case I believe you solved some time ago…"

Goro turned, suddenly interested. _The self-absorbed bastard._ "What about it?"

Running her hand through her silver hair, the woman bit back any remarks she could have made in that light. She needed his insight afterall. Getting out the cream colored file folder, Sae felt her frown turn into an even deeper frown. It was the kind of frown she could only associate with the time she had had to tell Makoto that their father had lied about their dog going to a butterfly farm.

Pushing off the unimportant thought, Sae quickly opened the file folder and spread the contents over the desk, making sure to spread it over Goro's keyboard. No distractions could be allowed. The silver haired woman was already observing the detective closely, watching for anything that could give her a direction to go in.

As expected, the detective recognized the case almost instantly. Eyes squeezed shut, Goro Akechi had to fight off a pained grimace. A few minutes passed, until he finally schooled his features into impassiveness. _This is a professional environment. Don't let personal feelings, or personal involvement, get in the way…_

"Sae-san, I investigated this case, but I barely had a hand in solving it," Goro tried to excuse himself, pushing his chair out from his desk. However, Sae beat him to the punch, using her body to block his progress. The hapless teenager was now trapped at his desk.

"Wakaba Isshiki's case is a tragic one, and I can understand your hesitation… But we can't afford to beat around the bush with so much at stake," Sae said, voice heavy with insistence.

Goro Akechi fought the urge to scowl. _You don't understand anything, not about me, and especially not about what's at stake._ The teenager swallowed those words, and any other incriminating thoughts and feelings. He needed to play the part for now.

"Why exactly do you need help reviewing a case that was so easily closed?" Goro asked curiously, although he already had suspicions as to why. Sae could be interested in the dead woman's missing research…

It could give her insight on how the Phantom Thieves function, but it was impossible for Sae to know of any help he could give for something like that…

"Well… two people that knew Wakaba caught my attention recently, as well as the person living with them. But they refuse to answer any of my questions," Sae said in frustration, crossing her arms with a huff.

Goro Akechi felt his already stiff smile freeze on his face. This…

This was absolutely unacceptable!

He put his hands on his head, deep in thought. This had always been something he had wanted to begrudgingly wash his hands of. He had specifically told that stupid, vile, horrendous man that he wanted no more involvement with anything to do with Wakaba Isshiki…

However, Sae didn't know that.

Afterall, Sae couldn't know he was the cause of Wakaba's death, couldn't know the pity he felt for himself for being so ignorant of everything about that woman. That woman… had been the first of many, and his superiors had done that on purpose. They had made his first hit something they knew would strike a nerve within him. Wakaba may have been the lead researcher on cognitive psience, but those people understood something Sae couldn't understand.

Sae didn't understand that to make him stick around for the long haul, you had to make him feel like there wasn't any other option open to him.

That thought lead him in many different directions, most of which he knew he didn't have the time, or right, to be investigating.

So with one final sigh of resignation, Goro Akechi looked back up to the silver-haired woman before him. His smile relaxed, his game face was on.

"Tell me about these people that interest you so much, Sae-san. If they have any involvement with the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, we'll sniff it right out!" He looked down at the small case file of a case that had been too easily closed. He stared straight at the few detailed papers, filled with unsolved questions that he already knew the answers too.

But most importantly, he looked unflinchingly at the pictures of the ghosts, living or dead, that he had been responsible for making.

* * *

"I wonder if this is a good idea, afterall…"

Not for the first time, the orange haired girl nearly backed out of her plan entirely. Drumming her fingers along the length of her desk, the girl stared at the bright computer screen in the darkly lit room.

One thing was for sure, if she hadn't already needed glasses before, she most certainly did now.

One thing that wasn't for certain… Should she go this extra mile?

The leader of the Phantom Thieves had already gotten her first string of messages, and she had many more to send to him, but would that be enough?

She supposed there was no way of knowing, since she hadn't allowed him to text back with his own response. Still, he needed to know she was serious, and that he wasn't the only one she knew about.

As she prepared the sidestep to her plan, she couldn't help but feel like one of the dastardly villains from the shows she watched, and released a mini cackle for good measure. Before it could become a full blown one, she heard a knock at the door.

"Futaba?"

Futaba stiffened, becoming quiet and shy. What time was it again? She thought she had had a little more time until Sojiro normally came home to give her lunch… Food he could be using for something else…

 _I have doubts that it will really happen, so that's why I'm doing this,_ Futaba thought, banishing the hesitation for a few moments longer. Chances were that even with the anonymity that communicating solely through chats provided, she was still probably going to chicken out at the last second.

"Futaba? You know I can tell you're awake… Your computer is always so bright… Are you hungry?" Sojiro waited for a response. He wasn't going to come in if she didn't let him. Normally that knowledge would have made her feel lonely and guilty, but for now she needed that privacy.

Sojiro definitely wouldn't approve of this plan if he found out.

Futaba waited in silence for a few more moments, until finally she heard a sigh.

"Your new Featherman bed set is supposed to arrive tomorrow… Good night, Futaba."

The sounds of retreating steps were heard outside her door. Futaba counted the steps, knowing exactly when they should start to fade out. Sojiro had once pulled a mean trick on her, lightening his steps until it sounded like he was back in his room, when he was really standing outside her own.

Futaba had only fallen for that once, and she had vowed that it would never happen again.

When the girl was satisfied that her privacy had been restored, she pushed her glasses up her nose and once again settled into a comfortable work rhythm. She _was_ hungry, but she could wait until her work was finally done.

Her thoughts once again drifted to the idea that she was a supervillain, and she played around with the idea for a while, entertaining herself as she rapidly typed on her keyboard.

 _The dastardly villain, Alibaba, is up to her old schemes again. Her arch foes, The Phantom Thieves of Hearts, normally a thorn in her side, now have something that she could want. But how to best obtain it?_

 _Their weakest link, the damsel in distress of the group, Sayori Matsu, might be fun to pick on…_

 _AHA!_

"AHA!" Futaba echoed her inner monologue, feeling quite satisfied with herself. She put the finishing touches on her newest little project. Now all she had to do was type a message…

But what to type?

Pushing up her glasses once again, as the naughty little thing had developed a habit of sliding down her face at the most annoying of times, Futaba muttered a bit to herself.

She thought she knew a lot of things about Sayori Matsu, much more than annoying, busybody, know-it-all teenagers. Futaba was a not-annoying, not-busybody, know-it-all teenager, afterall!

But one thing she hadn't known until recently was that the girl lived with a detective.

She needed to exercise caution, but also show Sayori that she was serious. That was the best way to show the leader of the Phantom Thieves that she meant business.

 _Yes, Sayori is most certainly the best way! The proof will be in the pudding!_ Proof was also in her computer files somewhere, but that could wait for another day…

With that in mind, Futaba began to type out her first message to the girl.

* * *

"I don't get it…"

Sayori looked down at the thermometer in her hands. Her temperature was normal, and everything else was normal too. She wasn't coughing, sneezing, puking. She didn't feel dizzy at all.

But Sayori definitely wasn't normal.

With nothing else to do, except wait for the inevitable, Sayori curled up on the apartment couch. Goro had let her stay home sick, thinking their disaster of a bike ride must have rattled her.

She _was_ rattled, but not for the reasons he would think. It was a miracle that he hadn't noticed yet, if anything.

 _Should I tell him?_ Sayori shuddered at the thought. Oh no, wait, that wasn't why she was shuddering…

A sensation like a hiccup bubbled in the back of her throat, and Sayori attempted to gulp it down, but to no avail. Disappearing was only for a millisecond, but it was enough for the pink-haired girl to come back nearly in tears. That feeling was like being dumped into a freezing cold river, only to immediately be pulled back out.

No matter how many times it had happened over the last twenty-four hours, it was still a shock. Sayori hated every minute of it.

 _Not even my teammates would know what's going on…_ Sure, they would have a better chance of understanding than Goro probably would, but just barely.

"What can I even do?" Sayori asked to no one in particular. Was she going crazy? Was it all in her head? It wouldn't be the first time something in her head had caused her distress…

The girl sniffled. It felt so unfair that she had to go through this. But she didn't really know who she could blame! Aside from simply blaming herself, the only other option she could think of was to blame everyone _but_ her, simply for not disappearing with her.

Sayori despised that option, and felt repulsed by herself for even coming up with it.

 _Maybe my body is finally catching up with my mind…_

That quiet musing almost made her laugh out loud. It had been common knowledge for the past few months, the unrealness. Yet it had never troubled her in such a physical way before.

Still without a solution to her extraordinary dilemma (but then again, what else is new?), Sayori let her thoughts and actions drift farther and farther apart… almost like when her exam had blown out the school's window and sailed directly into a poor taxi driver's windshield.

 _Akira and Ann are never going to let that go,_ Sayori mused to herself with a small grin, remembering the way their jaws dropped, before they immediately dissolved into an obnoxious series of giggles and guffaws.

She laughed to herself for a few peaceful minutes, memories upon memories pouring into her brain. _Akira, Ann, Ryuji, Morgana, Yusuke, Makoto, Goro… I love them all so much, no matter what._

It was only when she paused to catch her breath and rub the sleep from her eyes that she realized she had started crying. It wasn't the happy kind of crying either, the more she thought about it.

 _It especially isn't fair, that this unrealness has to invade my brain and ruin all things good and mostly normal._

Once again, Sayori found that her imagination was being mean to her. She hugged one of the couch's newly purchased throw pillows to her chest, breathing in the already heavy scent of maple that came with being in Goro Akechi's apartment.

Before she could continue feeling sorry for herself, the pink-haired girl straightened the bow in her hair and resolved to occupy herself with something else. Getting out her phone, she sent a quick text.

" _How's work, G? I'm booooored."_

Sayori slipped her phone back into her pocket, knowing well that the detective probably wouldn't see her text until he was on his way home…

Only for it to vibrate a few seconds later!

 _That was fast!_ Sayori thought with a small smile, getting out her phone again. It made sense though. After the biking incident, Goro was sure to be having her on his mind…

Swiping her screen quickly, Sayori took no notice of the fact that the notification on her phone did _not_ show Goro's name in the little text bubble.

No, that surprise came when she read the message she had received.

" _Good afternoon!"_

Sayori blinked in confusion, her brow furrowing slightly as she finally glanced at the nameless contact name at the top of the chat. _This must be a wrong number,_ she figured, going to type out a reply…

Only to find that she couldn't.

" _I know you must be rather confused, what with not being able to respond and all, but that isn't important right now. What is important is that-"_

The message cut off suddenly, and Sayori tilted her head, even more confused than she was before, not to mention slightly concerned…

A new message popped up suddenly, and Sayori couldn't help but giggle.

" _Urgh, I hit send too soon by accident!"_

The laughter died in her throat the second the next text came.

" _Anyway, the important thing is that I know your secrets!"_

Sayori paled, not liking the fact that "secrets" was plural. She rubbed her arms, feeling a sudden chill. Goosebumps rose on her body, and for a second she feared she might disappear again.

" _Don't worry too much, because I haven't a single care about these silly secrets of yours. I'm Alibaba by the way…"_

If Sayori wasn't already really freaked out, she would have started to giggle again at the way this possible stalker person talked to her so casually. That thought calmed her down slightly, and she steeled herself as more messages popped.

" _One secret I know about you… that is most important at the current moment… is that I know what you are."_

Sayori felt her heart leap at that. Could this Alibaba fix what was happening to her?

" _You're a Phantom Thief! This, along with a couple of other things, are bits of information I know you don't want getting out… Especially not to your roommate…"_

Sayori's shoulders slumped. She didn't know what this Alibaba had on her, but it would be wise to err with caution. Just because they hadn't mentioned it, didn't mean that Alibaba wasn't _aware_ like she was. Still, she couldn't help but feel disappointed that she didn't have a solution for her pressing problem. Officially resigning to the fact that to live was to suffer, Sayori released one final sigh before reading the rest of the messages Alibaba had spammed to her while she was having her little pity party.

" _So don't tell him! Do tell your teammates!"_

" _Got it?!"_

"Do _tell the Phantom Thieves._ Don't _tell Goro Akechi!"_

Sayori found herself nodding frantically, caught in the intensity she could imagine the sender of these messages having while they typed them out.

" _Anyway, I'll keep in touch."_

With that, the messages ended.

Sayori sat in silence for a few moments, wondering what exactly had just happened. Her friends had all been at school today, so any Phantom Thief related business that might have happened while she had been playing hooky at the apartment had alluded her.

 _If Alibaba thinks telling the others about her messages will mean something to them, then something must have happened. Maybe Alibaba contacted one of them?_ Sayori took a shuddering breath at the thought, startled by her moment of clarity in all of the recent confusion. If she was going to continue this train of thought, she'd bet all of her books that this had something to do with those Medjed guys…

 _And those Medjed guys had something to do with Goro…_

Sayori gulped, her eyes widening. She was beginning to paint the beginnings of a picture in her mind, though what it was of, she had yet to find out. Maybe if Alibaba texted her back soon, she could try to ask about Goro. They had mentioned specifically in their texts not to tell him about anything, and yet…

Getting up, the girl sighed as she checked her phone. If not Alibaba, then she would have liked for Goro to text her. Maybe he could stop the flurries and flutters of the stubborn butterflies in her head and stomach. At least for now, Sayori could do something to cheer herself up.

Walking over to the small kitchen, Sayori rummaged through the pantry until she found the tea Goro said he reserved for "special occasions." It wasn't anything that a responsible teenager wouldn't drink, of course. In fact, it was the opposite of what one might find at a party or something of that nature.

No… A special occasion for Goro Akechi seemed to be an event where he especially needed to calm down with a simple cup of tea. What that event might be, with all of her recent thoughts and worried half theories, Sayori didn't think she'd like to find out.

With those fragments of worries, taking root, the girl blew a loose piece of hair out of her face with a sigh, grabbing the small pink box. It was nearing empty, and Sayori silently wondered when Goro had last had a cup of it, as she had had to dig through several boxes of other foods, only to find it by a box of, of course, pancake mix.

 _It's almost like he was hiding both from me_. The thought caused her to chuckle. If there was one thing Sayori Matsu was not, aside from someone actually named Matsu, it was a good cook. She knew that, and had felt incredibly horrible, yet oddly flattered, when poor Goro had choked down the pancake dinner she had made for him.

 _Well, even an idiot can make tea_ , Sayori thought resolutely, setting the box on the stove. She would make a cup for her and Goro as well, and they were both going to love it!

* * *

The walk home was agony. He felt the weight of his briefcase cause a sag in his shoulders, and he barely managed to avoid dragging his feet.

To put it in the simplest terms, Goro Akechi was tired of almost everything.

He had a smile on his face, but on the inside he was screaming, and most likely crying. Yes, it was a well known fact to almost no one that Goro Akechi occasionally cried on the inside.

 _Oh, woe is me,_ he thought sardonically to himself. The day's events had made him feel like he had received a punch in the gut and a slap to the face, not necessarily in that order… Maybe at the same time, if he were being honest.

 _And it was all because of… of…_ He found himself hesitating, for the first time in a very long time. Whenever he normally thought of this particular event in his past, his mind would always flash to that man he hated so much. He would have pledged that the deeds the man had _forced_ him to do would not be in vain. That he would get justice, for himself, and for the woman that… that _Shido_ had wronged.

Just thinking that name caused bile to rise in his throat, but the detective wisely swallowed it down.

He simply didn't know any more. There were few things that he was sure of at this rate. Lately, everything had been whittling away at his confidence that he knew what he was doing, and that he wasn't a brain dead fool.

 _And now you're going to go home. You'll go home and continue to lie… to yourself, and to that naive little girl._

That thought would normally have caused him to grit his teeth, but he didn't want to do that as he crossed the busy street, full of people with phones and cameras…

Goro wanted to go home. Not to the home he currently had, where Sayori was probably napping on the couch, having calmed down on her day off, but to the home he once knew. The one with the play bridge… the one where he could run to at the end of the day and vent to his mother about how the newest bullies had pulled on his hair and called him rude names.

But thinking of home, of his mother was now tainted… tainted by the blood of others who cared about their children and only wanted the best for them.

Blood he had spilled.

Now instead of remembering her tight hugs, her whispered reassurances that his hair made him look charming, her promises of plum blossom tea, he could only remember the shadows.

All he could see were the wide eyes of his targets as he took them out without mercy.

All he could hear were their useless begs to be spared, their distorted, shadowy mouths trying to tell him different from what the boss ordered.

All Akechi could feel was the muted, satisfied smile he wore as he pulled the trigger.

All Goro could feel were the heaves of his chest on the only night he had allowed himself to cry, or to feel grief for those he had done away with. He didn't deserve to feel that way…

All day he had stared at the picture of Wakaba Isshiki, reminiscing and trying to avoid the feelings of despair that he thought he had grown immune to. But now all of the emotions were becoming raw, scratching and tearing and clawing at his chest.

The thoughts were overloading him so much, he barely felt himself bumping into a black haired woman on the street. The woman herself paused to complain, or perhaps to yell, but upon seeing him, only a silent, pensive hum came from her mouth. Arching her brow, the woman shook her head and continued on her path, pausing only once more to tie her hair up.

 _I almost expected her to be a fangirl with how she paused_ , Goro thought with a slight grin. Deciding not to dwell on that thought, or any other thought, he quickened his pace towards the apartment. Only a couple more blocks, and he could rest. It was likely he would collapse right on his bed.

However, that tiresome day was not done screwing him over quite yet, as he opened the door only to be met with a distinct _crash!_

* * *

 _I wonder what she thought of the message, or if she's told the other ones yet…_

 _I'll wait until later to see…_

* * *

Sayori was on her way to the coffee table with two freshly brewed cups of tea when it happened once again.

That hiccup like feeling built up as she took one step forward, balancing one cup in each hand. The girl quivered in shock, splashing hot tea on herself in process. This started an unfortunate chain of reactions, resulting in Sayori somehow managing to trip on the flat floor, disappearing right before she collided with the ground.

Unfortunately, the tea cups did not disappear with her.

The white china smashed on the ground, Sayori reappearing right between the piles of scattered shards. Pain lanced through her hands, forearms, and a particularly painful spot on her left shin. Tears spilled down her cheeks, and Sayori closed her eyes, trying to block out the lightning and fire that had spread through her entire body.

The cuts hurt, but the knowledge that her stupid disappearing act had caused so much mess this time hurt much more.

She felt the quick steps on the ground before she heard Goro's worried yells, and barely had time to react before the detective was already doing so for her.

 _I'm such an idiot,_ she thought bitterly, remembering her earlier thoughts. It had taken her a long time to find those cups, and now she had gone and broken them!

"Sayori? What happened? I heard a crash, and suddenly you were on the floor!" Sayori's blood ran cold at that, feeling Goro's gloved hands pulling her onto her back, already trying to fix what she had broken.

Had he seen her disappear? The thought made Sayori begin to cry harder, causing Goro to misinterpret the situation.

"Do I need to take you to the hospital?" When she gave no reply, the detective inspected her injuries, coming to the conclusion that he could handle the injuries on his own. All he needed were some tweezers, some bandaids…

* * *

"I'm sorry."

"Sayori, you know there's no need to say that," Goro replied, tucking the last of the bandages back into his briefcase. "You didn't do anything wrong. We all have our clumsy moments sometimes…"

He glanced at the now heavily bandaged Sayori, who was looking down to her lap in shame. It made his heart ache, seeing her like this. The situation reminded him too much of their first night spent together, when she had been so much more broken and sad.

"If I were you, I'd be more worried about going to school looking like that tomorrow," Goro tried, attempting and failing miserably to joke.

"I just wanted to make tea, and not even that could go right," Sayori whimpered. The detective wasn't sure if she was talking to herself or to him, and it troubled him. He reached a hesitant hand out, patting her on an unbandaged part of her arm. He didn't want to upset her injuries, afterall. Though he knew for a fact that they could probably both use a hug right about now.

"What's wrong with me?" Sayori released a shaky sob, burying her head in her hands.

"Don't talk like that, Sayori. There's nothing wrong with you… Nothing at all…"

"But how could you know? You didn't' see me-"

"I saw perfectly well what happened, Sayori!" That had sounded like a shout, and Sayori looked up in mild fear to see Goro glaring with rage filled eyes, not at her, but at his own hands.

"I saw… perfectly well. There's nothing wrong with you, Sayori. Everything is going to be fine…"

Goro stood up from his stool, calmly putting his hands lightly on Sayori's shoulders. "Get some rest. We'll see if you're up for going to school in the morning. I might have to stay home with you if that's not the case." That last part came out as a chuckle, and the detective walked to the bathroom door before stopping.

"Thank you for trying, by the way. Plum blossom is my favorite."

* * *

It was late at night when Sayori's phone once again vibrated.

This time it was a message from Akira.

" _Sorry if I'm waking you up, but all of us wanted you to enjoy your day off. But this is kind of urgent. Can you make it to the hideout tomorrow? If you can't, school or Leblanc might be fine. I think this is something we all need to discuss in person."_

Sayori waited a few seconds in silence before another text was sent to her, confirming what she had already figured out for herself.

" _This strange Alibaba person texted me. I'll tell you what they said when we meet up tomorrow."_

 **Well, how did you like that? I had quite a bit of fun writing this chapter, so I hope you guys liked it too. Let me know what you guys think by leaving a review! I'll see you next time.**


	41. Chapter 40

**I own nothing. Monika does. (There is an important note at the ending of the chapter.)**

"Sayori's late to class," Morgana noted from within Akira's desk. The black haired boy nodded, taking note of the empty seat where Sayori would normally be seated, either texting with their teammates or twiddling her thumbs in boredom.

"I thought I saw her in the hallway…" Morgana said to himself, a look of deep contemplation making his whiskers stick out. "It looked like she was in a hurry. I wonder what's keeping her."

Akira wondered that himself, though unlike his impulsive desk guest, he could restrain himself from getting up to investigate. The black feline was currently trying to leave his hiding spot, completely disregarding the fact that a cat walking in the middle of a classroom was going to draw attention.

"Fine." Morgana grumbled. "See if you can get a pass then. Sayori owes me sushi for the other day in Mementos." The cat was apparently still mad at Sayori for kicking the back of his seat.

Just as Akira was about to get up to do just that, the door to the classroom quietly creaked open. The flash of pink hair and red bow immediately gave away who it was. Thankfully Mr. Ushimaru hadn't seemed to notice the late arrival. Sayori's stealth was improving even in the real world, it seemed.

That is, until she walked all the way into the classroom.

Upon seeing the multiple bandages lacing across her arms, legs, and face, most of the students in the classroom began to murmur amongst themselves. Akira could only imagine the kind of gossip that was already being circulated. Though it was to be expected, when Sayori sported a haunted look in her eyes and currently appeared to be more mummy than human.

Sayori seemed to notice the sudden attention she had gained, wrapping her arms around herself in a futile attempt to hide her injuries. Unfortunately for the already very fragile girl, she barely got three steps into the classroom before Ushimaru took notice of his class's wandering attention.

"Pipe down, everyone! At least wait until I'm finished," the man snapped, turning from the board. Like some sort of masked monster, the teacher swiveled around to the topic of interest among his unruly class. Sayori seemed to shrink as any hope of avoiding confrontation vanished.

"So, I see you finally decided to join us, Miss Matsu," the grumpy teacher crossed his arms, clearly displeased. "According to your other teachers, you've been late to almost all of your classes for the past few days."

"Um… I was… in the bathroom," Sayori murmured, cheeks turning pink in embarrassment. The girl began to fidget, clearly at a loss for what to say. Mr. Ushimaru stared the girl down, before rubbing the bridge of his nose with an irritated sigh.

"I really don't want to have this conversation with you in the middle of class, Miss Matsu. Take your seat."

Sayori smiled, shoulders untensing, and quickly headed to her spot beside Ann in order to quickly dispel any worries her friends might-

"I'll be sure to contact your guardian to discuss your odd behavior, of course," The teacher continued, not seeming to notice the way Sayori sighed in disappointment. As if that would do anything. Goro may be her "guardian" but he addressed the fact that she was a few months older than him for most occasions _._ Sayori wasn't dumb enough to voice these thoughts aloud, giving the teacher a curt nod before taking her seat.

She noticed Ann looking over at her in concern. The blonde nodded her head towards Sayori's arms as if to say, "Are those injuries why you were late?"

Sayori shrugged in response. She hoped she had put enough hesitation into the action to say, "You're half right. These injuries were caused by the same reason I'm late, but the two events don't necessarily coincide with each other." But by the way Ann was looking at her, she probably thought Sayori meant something like, "I don't know," or even, "I'm not sure, I just woke up like this."

Sayori wasn't fluent in body language the way Ann was, obviously. The model had had a lot more training in the dialect than her. The two could just text, but Sayori was already beginning to skate on thin ice with Mr. Ushimaru. She didn't need to get the, "See me after class," treatment and risk missing the meeting with her friends just because she had her phone out. So instead, Sayori looked at Ann and waved towards the door. "We'll talk after class," She tried to convey.

Thankfully, Ann seemed to understand, nodding in agreement before turning back to the lesson. This left Sayori with the rest of the class period to come up with a good reason for why she was suddenly so much clumsier than she had been in the time she had begun training with the Phantom Thieves.

The real reason was that she had been disappearing more and more often lately. Sayori already had no idea how to control it, so imagine her delight when the episodes began to get more and more frequent, often putting her in incredibly unfortunate situations. Already, she had been effectively banned from getting anywhere near the kitchen in the apartment, and she was probably well on her way to getting banned from the bathroom too, despite the fact that unlike the kitchen, it was _necessary_ for her to go to the bathroom.

And now it was even interfering with school life. Sayori had been so afraid of disappearing in the middle of class, that she had hidden herself until she disappeared once. This didn't make it any less risky to go to class, of course, but she _had_ to show up. Even if it was just for a little while, if she was in class, she was there. People saw her, interacted with her, and she knew she was still there. The time between disappearances was getting shorter and shorter, and Sayori was beginning to fear that if she didn't find out what she wanted to do soon, one day she just might stop existing… stop coming back.

Without realizing it, Sayori had once again worked herself up. Her throat was burning, and Sayori knew she was going to start crying if she didn't calm herself down. So instead, she focused on her original intent of coming up with an excuse, or at least a way to derail a conversation anyone might start having with her about being late, her injuries, why her arm was starting to look fuzzy… Oh no, wait, she was just crying.

Sayori took a deep breath, trying to focus on her train of thought. One look around the room told her no one had noticed she was crying, but that brought little ease, because no one noticed her…

Her thoughts blended together, and suddenly all Sayori could think about was how this whole mess seemed to start. Ever since becoming aware, it just seemed to feel like the things originally distorting her had moved on to other areas of her life. She used to think everything was pointless, but now she was desperately trying to find a point to everything just to stay sane. Before, she had always been sure of things. She knew people, and she always made a point to attempt to know herself.

 _Yuri is quiet, shy, and can often sink into herself._

 _Natsuki is easily irritable, stubborn, and often jumps to conclusions…_

 _Monika is organized, confident, helpful, yet you can't help but get the feeling that she's insecure about something…_

Sayori knew all of these things, but that mere day spent in her Palace all that time ago had completely thrown her off. Her friends had become scary monsters, and if her Palace was her heart, had she known them to be monsters all along? That didn't sound right to her…

This was just one big example of how confusing things were now. No longer was she pointlessly going to a club at the end of a day that only seemed so long because that was just how things were. She was a Phantom Thief, trying to help her teammates prove their justice, trying to keep them out of trouble. At the same time, she lived with one of the detectives responsible for hunting them down, trying to keep him away from the Thieves despite the fact that he needed to find them before he could help her get home.

And despite all of that, she was developing feelings for him, and sadly, she was confused if those even were her feelings…

 _Live for yourself…_ Psyche had said to her. But how could she do that when she didn't know what she wanted, or how she wanted to live?

What was the lie?

What was she supposed to believe?

What was she supposed to do with the knowledge that she wasn't real?

Just as that question came to mind, Sayori got her answer. And just as she got her answer, class ended. Ann and Akira both got up, tapping her shoulder. It was time they met up with the rest of the team to discuss Alibaba, and the strange demands he had made of the Thieves.

* * *

Leblanc was always peaceful at this time of day. The calm before the storm was the best way to describe it. Most of the adult customers who stopped by for the day would be busy. Late lunch breaks over, children heading home… For these reasons and more Sojiro felt he could enjoy a small moment of peace and quiet. The TV was on, as it almost always was, but the man found he could ignore the black box which blared bad news for a small while.

"Are you kiddin' me?! No offense, but that's a shitty, shitty idea, Sayori!" Ah yes, the young, blond, loud friend of Akira's announced the arrival of his temporary charge's ever growing clique, with all the grace of a whining dog playing a kazoo. Sojiro straightened up his back ever slightly and went back to wiping off the table. They were all just arriving at the entrance to the shop by the sound of it. Already Sojiro could make them out through the small window on the door.

"None taken," came the now strained voice of a pink haired girl who Sojiro assumed to be Sayori. Akira had mentioned her at one point. She had been to Leblanc a few times before, though never when Sojiro himself was around.

According to Akira, "She doesn't come around for the coffee. I'm honestly relieved. Nothing good could come from giving this girl caffeine." And despite her currently detached tone of voice, the ever present bounce in her step and starry eyes convinced Sojiro immediately that this was an accurate statement.

"Honestly, Ryuji... Tactless as always," Yusuke Kitagawa was courteous enough to hold the door open for the three girls that followed him, who Sojiro recognized to be Ann Takamaki, Sayori Matsu, and… a new face.

 _Oh no. There's another one._

"What's with the big group?" Sojiro inquired, looking at the five people in Akira's company. Was he going to need to prepare more coffee for them?

"Good evening," Ann replied pleasantly. "We were thinking about putting together plans for our summer vacation." She looked pointedly over at Makoto and Sayori, only to find them scrutinizing Sojiro with an equal intensity that the man regarded them with. Basically, with cautious inspection, though still with a friendly demeanor, as if to assure the person being judged that there was nothing to worry about.

"Are those new faces I see?" Sojiro seemed to ask Akira, though his gaze was still on said new faces.

Sayori smiled and nodded. "It's lovely to finally meet you, Sakura-san. Akira has told us all so many things about you!" She clapped her hands together as if to emphasize her point.

Makoto introduced herself in her usual timid yet formal way. The look on her face was neutral, though Sayori noticed her slumped posture. She couldn't help but think it was a good method to connect a face to a name, by putting as many noticeable differences between their appearance. though Sayori personally thought the student council president was going overboard.

 _I mean, I have bright pink hair for crying out loud!_

"Niijima?" Sojiro put a hand to his chin, seeming to recognize the name. He thought for a moment before shaking it off. "Eh, nevermind. It's lovely to meet you both. Though, what kinds of things has Akira been saying about me?" The old man glanced at the boy with an expectant gaze.

Clearing his throat, Akira laughed. "All good things, Boss." He pushed his glasses up his nose. The others smiled at his antics.

"I hope he's not causing either of you too much trouble, especially if you're a student council president," Sojiro looked at the girls and then back to Akira with an "I have to deal with this everyday" smirk.

Sayori couldn't help but giggle at that. "No trouble at all, Sakura-san. He and I, at least, have gotten along swimmingly since the day I met him," she gushed, giving Akira a big thumbs-up and an ecstatic smile.

"Sakura-san?" Sojiro asked, before waving his hands as if he could shoo the word away. "Everyone just calls me Boss." He smiled charmingly before once more turning to Akira. "By the way, that was addressed to you." He nodded to a letter on the counter before excusing himself, saying he had to pick something up.

"Late delivery on something I need at the house," Sojiro grumbled. "I'll be back soon. Don't make too much of a mess."

After the door shut and the bell rang, Sayori smiled. "He's nice. I like him."

"Yes. He has been quite generous, giving the Sayuri a proper place to stay," Yusuke smiled, gesturing to the beloved painting. The rest of the group took seats at the table as well, the left side seating Akira, Sayori, Ann in that order, and the right with Yusuke, Ryuji, and Makoto. Morgana hopped out of Akira's bag and began pacing around the table.

"And he's giving you a place to stay?" Makoto asked Akira, who silently nodded as he eyed the letter left for him warily.

"And me!" Morgana cut in, nudging the letter with his paw in curiosity.

"Are we gonna open that thing already?" Ryuji asked in boredom. He leaned back in his chair and silently contemplated getting up to get snacks. "You said you were waitin' on some invitation at one point, right?"

Akira smirked. "That's already been taken care of."

Sayori stretched her arms and yawned, the warm atmosphere of the coffee shop taking its toll. "Well, I probably don't have too much longer to stay before I should head home. Let's try to make this meeting quick?" The girl felt phantom chills across her spine, the knowledge of what would happen if she stayed too long weighed heavily on her mind. But for now she kept her mouth shut and a lazy smile on her face.

"It will be, Sayori," Ann assured. Just as they were about to begin the conversation, the news began yet another announcement concerning Medjed and the Phantom Thieves. Of course, as the Phantom Thieves, the group was sure to listen closely.

Sayori couldn't help but grow slightly pale at the rather brief announcement. Ann was already getting her phone out to read the post aloud. As everyone else began to discuss and complain, Sayori couldn't help but feel the roiling pit in her stomach was trying to tell her something.

Like some big, ugly quilt, all of the things happening at the current moment had a thread connecting them. Sayori felt that if she stared at the monstrous thing long enough, she could piece it together, or better yet, tear it apart. And what was worse…

"Why does Goro have anything to do with this?" Sayori whispered in a frail voice. However, it wasn't quite frail enough, as everyone immediately seemed to notice she had said something.

"What'd you say, Sayori?" Ryuji asked, scratching the inside of his ear, trying to clear out debris.

Sayori felt herself begin to panic. _Think, Sayori. Think! You need to let them know what you've found out anyway… But maybe just leave out the part about Goro giving you your very cause for suspicion…_ The pink haired girl bit her lip, knowing she looked rather sheepish.

"Uh… I was thinking… Don't you guys think…" Sayori trailed off, knowing how dumb and foolish she must sound. It was at that moment of knowing that a lightbulb went off above her head.

Akira squinted, about to comment that Sojiro really needed to replace those when Sayori seemed to once again find her train of thought.

"Don't you guys think that Medjed is doing this on purpose?"

The others all blinked owlishly at her, not quite understanding where she was coming from.

"Are you implying that threatening to steal money from the bank accounts of those who support us was originally an accident?" Yusuke said with wide, confused eyes.

"No, what I'm trying to say is that they're egging us on. They are trying to force us to make hasty moves by making the public put pressure on us, and also trying to insult the egos they seem to believe we all have," Sayori spoke quickly, wondering for a second if she was making any sense to them. She felt relieved to see they were all paying rapt attention to her statement.

"All I'm really saying is that while we still definitely have to figure out a way to stop these Crackers, we should try not to get too worried or intimidated," Sayori finally finished, taking in a big gasp of air and leaning into her seat to rest.

"And also don't tell anyone we're Phantom Thieves." At her words, almost everyone turned to look at Ryuji, who groaned.

"That was one… no, wait… Okay, maybe I do that a lot, but you guys don't have to be mean about it!" Ryuji shouted in exasperation.

Before anyone could argue, Akira was reaching for the letter on the table, unable to quell his curiosity at the letter any longer. The red calling card he pulled out made everyone fall into a short stupor.

"Is there anything else?" Ann questioned. She took the envelope and began picking through it. "Whose this from, anyway?" She wondered, not seeing a return address.

"Someone must have directly dropped it into the mailbox here…" Makoto trailed off. Everyone else was obviously reaching the same conclusion she had.

 _Alibaba…_

Sayori groaned slightly. So many problems seemed to be arising lately. They needed Alibaba's help, but they didn't know who he wanted to have a change of heart in order to form a deal and defeat Medjed. Everything was one chaotic mess, and everyone else seemed to agree.

"What the hell's going on here?" Ryuji muttered.

"All we can do is await Alibaba's orders," Makoto said solemnly.

"And until then, we can discuss Sayori's idea," Morgana suggested, causing the pink haired girl to beam. "...And also why it's bad." Sayori practically deflated upon hearing that.

* * *

Sojiro was about to enter Leblanc once again, having dropped off the featherman bed set that had arrived late, when he overheard the teens talking animatedly. While he wasn't normally one to pry on melodramatic teenage conversations, he also didn't feel like walking back into the store in the middle of a yelling match. So he decided to wait and listen for when it got quiet.

"Sayori, I don't want to be rude, but Ryuji is right… for once," came Makoto's voice, lower in tone than the blond haired friend she had mentioned.

"I thought you just said you didn't want to sound rude!"

"Not to Sayori…"

Ryuji grumbled and Sojiro shook his head. Poor kid might not be the absolute brightest, but it wasn't like everyone needed to bring it up.

"But! But…" Sayori tried to defend herself to no avail.

"Sayori, you know how happy I am for the two of you," Ann began gently. "Afterall, you have somebody who supports you and keeps you safe, and he has somebody he can relax around. Not to mention, it's kind of fun watching all of the girls around school be sad that the guy they've had a crush on is taken…" She snickered before seeming to remember she had a point.

Sojiro raised his eye slightly at that, remembering something Futaba had once mentioned offhandedly before she had begun her rather long silence. Perhaps she had had a point?

"What I believe she is trying to say, Sayori, is that there are a lot of risks involved with your idea," Yusuke said. "That dynamic certainly wouldn't mix well, and with all of the stress we are under… We'd only arouse-"

Sojiro coughed quietly to himself before walking away from the door. He had heard quite enough already. Deciding to call Akira and tell him to close the shop early, the man quietly left for home.

* * *

"We'd only arouse more suspicion if we all spent time together with Akechi," Yusuke finished. Everyone looked pointedly at Sayori who sighed.

"I know, but at the same time it would only be more suspicious if I kept him away from you guys…" Sayori muttered. "You see, he knows about the post of me on the Phansite."

"He does?!" Everyone asked in alarm.

Sayori nodded. "And suddenly I have this big group of friends that I won't let him meet. In fact, he asked me just the other day if he could meet you guys. If I don't answer, he could get even more suspicious!"

The others all eyed each other warily, not knowing how to respond. It was Akira who finally spoke up.

"That's true, Sayori. But on our own, we're a suspicious group all the same. In some way, we're all involved with our targets. If we hang around him too much while we're being targeted by Medjed, we could accidentally reveal more than we intended." Akira crossed his arms with an unhappy look on his face

"What about after?" Sayori questioned earnestly. The others all hesitated to answer. Wouldn't it also seem even more suspicious if they only agreed to meet him after the Medjed crisis was solved?

"How about we discuss this later for our sushi party?" Ann suggested, leaning over to whisper into Sayori's ear, "Morgana might be more willing to listen if he has some fatty tuna in him."

Sayori sighed but nodded, getting up from the table. "That's fine. I'll see you all there then." She rubbed her forehead before adding, "I should get going, my head hurts."

Her head did actually not hurt, but instead, that familiar hiccupy feeling was coming back to bite her already. As Sayori hurried out, she blearily heard her friends say their goodbyes.

* * *

" _I assume the rest of your teammates are aware of my communications with you?"_

" _Hello? Are you there Sayori Matsu?"_

" _Fine. Just know that time is running out to strike a deal."_

As soon as Futaba Sakura sent those messages, she deleted them. She had become so absorbed in other events of her day that she failed to realize what time it was. Sayori would be asleep by now, and so would everyone else.

Tapping her feet impatiently, the girl glanced at the clock on her computer and frowned slightly. She should probably sleep too, but she was feeling a strange sense of excitement. The calling card had been delivered. Hopefully things would start changing soon.

When they did, Futaba wanted to be awake to experience them fully.

She blinked the drowsiness away and once again began typing furiously on her laptop. As the time continued to pass, sad memories flowed through her, reminding her that at this hour, she'd be nearing "The Mouth of the Cavern," in her regular journey through the kingdoms of night.

It was almost too perfect of a coincidence that while she was there, in a place where bad people were tormented by fire breathing goddesses, that she could feel that same anxiety and guilt filling her heart, making it feel hard to breathe. It was as if a thousand eyes were burning her with their gaze, condemning her for what she had done. Futaba curled in on herself and decided that perhaps it would be best to get some sleep.

Even if the nightmares were always worse, at least she would be under her new Featherman bed set.

* * *

The next day, Sayori stared at her phone while huddled in the bathroom, not quite believing what she was reading. Alibaba was just giving them the name of the next target that easily? Sayori had originally thought that they would have been more persistent and stubborn to release information like that.

Could Alibaba be more desperate than she had originally realized?

All of a sudden Sayori felt an incredible weight of sadness settle on her heart as she read her phone screen over and over again.

" _Did your leader already tell you your target's name?"_

" _It's Futaba Sakura. May as well spray it if I'm gonna have to say it."_

" _You better make sure your team changes her heart or else I'm going to report you!"_

Sayori hesitated for a moment before sending a brief reply back.

" _Don't worry, Alibaba. We'll help both of you. We'll steal her distorted desires and ease whatever heartache or suffering that might have befallen you!"_

Though she couldn't help but cringe at how corny it sounded to her, the words felt like the right thing to say, at least in Sayori's mind. Afterall, though doubts had always crept in when others had said it to her, Sayori had always found comfort when people told her things would be okay. They had hope so could too, afterall.

Perhaps Alibaba would appreciate the sentiment as well.

* * *

Days passed, the situation growing more tense as the clock continued to count down a silent timer. Those who could searched for clues about Futaba Sakura, everyone able to realize quickly the surname that she shared with Boss. After looking into this relationship further, further discord seemed to arise as Sojiro became guarded, going as far as threatening to throw Akira out. It hardly helped matters when Akira overheard that Sojiro could be abusing Futaba, his daughter, from a woman that sounded painfully familiar to Makoto.

After hearing those words, the Phantom Thieves couldn't help but grow all the more worried, coming to uncomfortable speculation upon uncomfortable speculation. Things only grew worse when Alibaba once again contacted them, asking why no change of heart was taking place. But without the necessary keywords, they could do nothing.

Alibaba quit, and they were no longer able to contact the strange hacker.

Sayori was freaking out at this point. The time between her disappearances were growing shorter still. She now could consistently say that there was less than an hour between each occurence, and with everything that was going on, she could not find the time to think clearly on how to respond to anything. However, there were a second things she could be sure of.

The first was that she believes in Sojiro Sakura. He was a good person, who was kind enough to house a kid he had barely known before this. Perhaps he was standoffish at times, but there was nothing Sayori could discern about him that told her he could be capable of hurting someone as others seemed to think. Akira believes in that goodness as well, and although the other members were slightly skeptical, they all wanted to believe in Sojiro.

The second thing she was certain of was that she wasn't going to be able to relax again until everything was settled. A steady stream of fear had settled in her since she began to disappear, and the recent drama involving Medjed made her skittish to the point she was beginning to have trouble sleeping. Sayori didn't know what to do about her own situation, so she resolved to help everyone else around her. Perhaps if she could get things to a point where she was satisfied, with her teammates and friends on one arm and Goro on the other, as well as fix the issues troubling the Sakura household, maybe a solution would present itself. Sayori hoped so at least. This was a game after all. So she remained, not confident, but hopeful that the solution would find her eventually.

But for now, she had to meet her friends for sushi.

* * *

Sayori had to admit that the more often she ate sushi, the more the taste for it was becoming lost on her. There was no doubt that she would rather have it over the fast food Goro would sometimes have to bring home, such as Big Bang Burger, but lately she had been missing the sweeter things in life, cupcakes especially.

At least she had plenty of opportunities to enjoy tea.

She didn't voice these thoughts, simply smiling and sipping the tea that she had ordered along with the meal. Occasionally she would sneak a piece of her sushi into Akira's nag for Morgana, knowing that little by little she was getting back into Morgana's good graces after the incident in Mementos that had occured before this whole mess began.

The conversation was mainly focused on how good the sushi was, with Sayori giving polite nods on occasion. As the minutes ticked by, Sayori began to think of ways to excuse herself from the table, knowing that her disappearing like a magician was going to get a lot more attention than anything a couple of teens could gossip about.

"Sayori, you're being rather quiet," Makoto pointed out, concern pooling in her eyes. "Do you have anything to say about this?"

"About what?" Sayori asked, stiffening in her seat sheepishly. She hadn't been paying as much attention as she should have been.

"I was just wondering, do you really think Boss could abuse someone? We met him at the same time, and I just don't think I know him well enough to make assumptions…" The brown haired girl trailed off, the others giving Sayori a curious look.

"Well, if Akira believes in him, than I will too. I trust his judgement when it comes to someone he lives with," Sayori said brightly, before her expression notably dimmed. "Whatever is wrong with Futaba Sakura… I don't think it's his fault, but something entirely out of his hands." The girl trailed off, briefly wondering if she should stuff her face with sushi to avoid saying anymore,but then decided against it.

"To be honest, a part of me gets this pit in my stomach whenever I think about it. I feel like I should be figuring something out, that I could, but something inside of me refuses to see the bigger picture…" She leaned her hand on her chin and sighed. "I know when I finally see everything clearly, I'm probably going to laugh or cry at myself for not seeing it sooner."

She pushed her plate away and headed quickly for the bathroom. She felt cored, knowing that whatever was wrong with her was separating her from her friends when they needed her the most.

* * *

Running into Goro after sushi was an unsettling combination of relief and stress for Sayori. On one hand, she was very happy to see him. Heck, she was fully prepared to run up and jump into his arms like all the cliched couples did in movies. However, she was going to take her team's wish to heart and keep the groups separate until they had the Medjed situation fixed.

But that wasn't going to stop her from messing with his hair like a lovesick dork that desperately needed a nap and a hug.

"Sayori? What are you doing exactly?" the detective asked, his eyes widening and his cheeks turning a light red. He had been about to have a serious conversation with his small group of suspects, which he had deduced with little help from the pink haired girl, thank you very much.

His embarrassment wasn't helped when he saw Ann Takamaki getting out her phone and snapping a quick picture.

"I'm sending this to all of you," Ann declared proudly.

Goro Akechi resisted the urge to grit his teeth and forced a smile, finding it in himself to detach Sayori's hands from his hair. Wrapping his arm around Sayori's waist as best he could, in what he hoped was a way that would keep the girl still, the detective smiled charmingly at the group.

"It's nice to see all of you again. It's been much too long," Goro commented, noting with slight disappointment the rather hesitant nod most of them gave him in return.

Sayori, rested her head on his shoulder and sighed in disappointment herself. Of course her idea wasn't going to work if the majority of them, cat included, couldn't at least pretend to be happy to see him!

"Sayori," Goro commented instead, seeming to want to change the subject. Sayori looked up and met his gaze expectantly. "Did you enjoy the sushi?"

Sayori smiled and nodded. "It was delicious!"

Offended by the lie, despite receiving the majority of the sushi, Morgana poked his head out of the bag. "But you barely ate any of it!" Akira quickly pushed the cat back in, but it was too late. Sayori felt herself stiffen as Goro's breath hitched beside her.

 _He was in the Metaverse with me! Did he hear Morgana talk?_ Sayori fought to gain control of her quickly changing demeanor, forcing out slow and calm breaths. Beside her Goro Akechi said nothing for a long time. If this what it, all because of a stupid sushi outing, she was going to be so mad at that cat for being such a hypo-

"Interesting. Do you bring that cat with you everywhere you go?" Goro asked politely, unwrapping his arm from around Sayori and walking towards Akira. He leaned down and inspected the bag the black haired boy always carried. Meanwhile, Sayori was so shocked she thought she might actually fall over.

"What an odd bunch you all are," the detective was now remarking. Sayori was already losing focus on the conversation as she was beginning to come to an important realization.

She was only snapped out of her stupor by a loud, "For real?!" from Ryuji. Quickly shaking herself out of it, she strided over to the rest of the group to try and figure out what she had missed.

 _I guess we're going to war now…_ Sayori thought with a sick feeling building in her stomach.

After a few more awkward moments of Sayori watching her two separate groups react, the time to leave had once again come. It was like an out of body experience as she watched Goro walk towards her and talk to her in a calm voice, before seeming to realize she was no longer paying attention to the world around her.

"Hello? Sayori? I said you should continue visiting with your friends as I'm not going straight home today." The detective snapped his finger in front of her face, watching as she finally seemed to be fully awake now.

"Why's that?" Sayori asked blearily, trying not to lose her focus once again.

"Well, Sae-san and I have made enough progress in investigating the Phantom Thieves that I'm satisfied for now. I decided that this afternoon I would try to find out more about your case by a new method," the detective began to ramble out his own thought process vaguely. "At this point I think it's safe to say there is very little chance of recovering any of your memories, so I thought it might be better to investigate places… crime scenes if you will, instead of people. I think I have a pretty good idea where to start too."

As Goro smiled wide, obviously proud of himself, Sayori couldn't help but be stunned, her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide with worry. There were multiple reasons to be extremely scared by what her roommate had just said. How much progress had he made? Where was he going to look?

The detective seemed to misinterpret this and snapped his fingers in her face once more. When she blinked and gave him a small smile to assure him she was paying attention, he seemed to react the exact opposite. This was a concerning trend lately.

"Sayori, are you feeling alright? You haven't been acting like yourself lately…" the detective trailed off, a look of disappointment falling on his features. He put the back of his hand to her forehead, although they both knew there would be no fever.

Sayori only smiled wider, lifting his palm away from her forehead and wrapping him in a tight hug. "I'm fine, Goro. I've just had a lot of stuff going on lately. I'm sure things will go back to normal soon."

The look on his face told the girl that he wanted to argue, but she was one step ahead. Giving him an even bigger hug and a light peck on the cheek, the girl quickly separated herself from him and ran to join her friends who were making their way to a subway.

"I'll see you tonight, Goro. We'll discuss things then!"

The detective remained silent for a few moments after that, the heavy pounding in his chest was something he knew should have made him feel light as a feather. Yet, instead it weighed him down like a sack of bricks, heavy with indecision and uncertainty.

* * *

 _I don't like this… I don't like this at all…_ Sayori thought to herself as she stepped lightly around Sojiro's house. It wasn't that it was raining, or that the darkness of the house seemed to make everyone else, Makoto in particular, think they were in some ghost story. No, like all of them, Sayori was concerned about the fact that they had technically just trespassed in Boss's house.

It was rather concerning to her that despite being able to feel the massive tension in the air as thunder cracked outside, and being able to hear Makoto's building anxiety from across the room, Sayori felt a strange sense of calmness in what some could interpret to be a scary situation. The rain outside filled what might have been an otherwise deathly silence, and if it weren't for the fact that she was worried she might get in trouble for trespassing, Sayori thought she could've settled onto a nearby chair for a nap.

That is, until the power went out.

A scream from somewhere above made Sayori look up in concern. She hadn't heard any sort of crashing noises, so she was pretty sure that scream wasn't caused by someone getting hurt. Sayori breathed a small sigh of relief at that, before focusing on the more pressing issue of making sure Ann and Makoto calmed down. They walked a bit further into the house, searching for any sign of the girl they were looking for, who was most likely the source of the scream.

"It's kinda cool how chill you are about this, Sayori," Ryuji remarked.

"You guys don't seem all that worried either," Sayori replied casually. "Besides, it would be smarter if we all kept quiet. If she screams again, we can find Futaba easier that way." Sayori adjusted the bow in her hair and crossed her arms, trying to look professional but failing miserably.

The sound of footsteps put a stop to any attempted banter, everyone looking around nervously for the source.

Let it be known that Yusuke was no help whatsoever in calming everyone's nerves by saying, "I can sense someone's presence," like some sort of medium.

Makoto looked like she wished the Earth would just swallow her up as she whipped her head back and forth, clinging onto Akira's shoulder for dear life. "Who is it?" She asked, quietly at first, before trying once more with a more built up volume. When no one answered her, Makoto finally seemed to snap. Wanting to leave, yet her legs frozen, the vice president was beginning to worry everyone that she might drop dead the next time lightning flashed.

What happened after that, during the lightning flash, was much worse. Sayori was about to turn around and offer Makoto a hand up, when she suddenly felt an almost primitive instinct to take five steps back. It was a good thing she did, for when the lightning flashed, she could make out the barest glint of glasses and ginger hair before Makoto was screaming and flailing around like a startled goose.

Sayori ran back to her original spot as Makoto seemed frozen to Akira's leg. Ann began shouting for the ginger haired girl, Futaba, while the footsteps retreated up the stairs.

The rest of her time at Sojiro Sakura- Boss's house, was a blur. If someone were to ask her about it later, Sayori would only be able to say that she remembered all of the screaming and freaking out, a brief coldness of the rain outside, before she was Leblanc, about to hear a tale that would reveal a large part of that bigger picture she was so eager yet hesitant to see.

* * *

Sayori remained silent the whole time, a grim expression on her face as she listened to Sojiro's explanation regarding his adopted daughter, and her mother's tragic suicide. Everyone had the mind not to ask her how she was affected by this, for which a small part of her felt grateful, already knowing how she would respond.

It didn't matter to her, how she felt in this situation. It was horrible. There was no getting around that fact. But what mattered most…

How was Futaba feeling?

Sayori was incredibly concerned, her hands balled into fists at the thought of what the young girl had been forced to witness that day her mother jumped into the street, and what she was forced to witness on all of the days that followed.

Sayori felt that she was getting trapped in her own head lately, but there was one advantage of that. No matter what everyone else decided, Sayori knew what she was going to do.

Some way or another, she was going to help Futaba.

For now though, she was frozen in her seat, listening to the story but not taking part in any conversation, only able to absorb what others were saying. It wasn't until Boss already left, with a request to leave Futaba alone, that the others attempted to wake her from her stupor.

Shaking her shoulder slightly, Yusuke began softly, "I'm not going to even attempt to ask you if you are alright, Sayori. Obviously you aren't… But we need your input to decide what we need to do now."

"Sayori…"Ann said sympathetically, nudging her. "You need to go home, you know?"

Sayori squeezed her eyes shut and for once, ignored the hiccup building up. She stood up calmly, slowly walking over to the door with what she hoped was a neutral body language. Before leaving Leblanc, she said loud enough for her teammates to hear, "I agree with what you guys have already decided. Futaba needs help… So I'll help her no matter what it takes… Palace or no."

The bell rang and the door shut with a finality that resonated throughout the building.

* * *

Futaba listened in on the conversations in Leblanc with rapt attention. Once again, the Phantom Thieves were talking about palaces, but what did that have to do with anything? All Futaba could gather was that she apparently had one.

 _As if. How could I afford something like that?_ Futaba mused to herself as she typed faster and faster. Despite the ridiculousness of the words being said, they were all taking it very seriously, especially Sayori.

That had been surprising to Futaba. She would have expected Sayori to start bawling her eyes out at the first mention of her misfortune, yet the girl barely spoke until it was time to leave.

 _Just how is she planning to help me,_ Futaba wondered. _And furthermore, she's not acting like the real Sayori normally does. I suspect cloning!_ Pushing up her glasses, Futaba wondered how possible that was, before abandoning the idea completely.

If they were planning on helping then there was very little time to waste. They had made a deal, afterall.

Her almost obsessive work pace was interrupted when she heard one of the Phantom Thieves ask, " _Hey, where's Mona?"_ As if out of nowhere, a nearly fully black cat jumped out from a shadow in her room.

Just as it had suddenly arrived, making Futaba jump and yelp, it was gone.

* * *

Goro hadn't been to the Mementos that often lately. Most often he came because he had a job to do, and he never lingered any longer than he had to. However, for multiple reasons, today the detective was here to explore.

With the way Medjed was moving recently, he had no doubt the Phantom Thieves were moving cautiously. As such, they wouldn't be here today. That was a huge relief. Before, if they had by chance met up, they would only know him as the man with the black mask that shadows always tried to spill their guts about. Now, with Sayori among their ranks, it was more plausible that they would discover his identity.

 _I've become too open with her lately,_ he admitted to himself as he just barely managed to dodge a fight with a couple of overly confident shadows. He had to make haste, afterall. The reason he was here was based on a mere whim, and it would likely lead him nowhere. But with the way things were going, Goro was getting desperate.

Sayori knew so much about him, and that would only make things worse if she was still living with him when he got his revenge. Not to mention, one of the members of this sorry organization was getting antsy. The last thing he needed was for Sayori to put things together in the possible event that her principal met an unfortunate fate.

 _Why did I allow myself to start worrying about foolish things? I should have just run rampant from the start, without worry for the principles I'd already lost._ Yet those foolish principles were what made him start on this path of destruction. The thought that he could obtain justice, for himself, and for his mother, made him walk this path… So it would only make sense.

The subway tunnels were as dark as ever, the red veins on the walls giving the masked assassin the feeling that this place was alive. Goro had to move carefully. He didn't know what he was looking for, but so far the Metaverse had been his only lead. Someone had left him a note, and given him a flash drive that he still had no access too. An entity who could mislead others in this way… It didn't seem possible to him that they had simply gone down with Sayori's Palace.

They had to know something about Sayori. He couldn't wait around for whatever they wanted him to wait for. Sayori had been getting too hurt lately for him to find any comfort in her being near him. If this person… entity… whatever it was, was still around, then he had to find them.

Mementos was getting deeper lately. The Phantom Thieves were obviously the cause of this. Once again they were being an inconvenience. Now he had more ground to cover if he was going to find what he was looking for.

When he found he could no longer run, Goro slowed to a walk, looking closely in the tunnels for anything useful. He had been down more of them than he cared to count, leading him further into the place he had come to hate. Everything about the darkly lit setting put him on edge, making him think of things best left forgotten.

 _The farther down you go, the closer to Hell you are_ , he had once heard. If that was to be believed, than Goro Akechi knew he was the lowest of the low. But his pride and what was left of his sense of self rebuked this idea, so he dismissed it. Instead, he went farther down still, running into more shadows, each one a reminder of truths he'd rather not face.

 _Rather not… But I'll have to eventually._

It should have been funny, really. Just earlier when he had talked with Sae-san, he had been so eager to throw the Phantom Thieves under the bus. Now as he weaved his way into Mementos and looked at the fruits of their labor, he would freely admit to himself that he held an admiration for the group. Yet now he had the orders to not bother with caution or mercy in order to catch them. These orders had come from both Sae-san and the higher-ups in the conspiracy.

Goro Akechi was fine with that.

 _But,_ he thought, _they won't be able to object if I get creative and try to enjoy myself in the process, so long as the job gets done._ He thought this to himself with the smallest of dry smiles as he finally came to another stopping point to investigate. The darkly lit tunnels made it hard to view the ground or walls for anything of use, but he refused to do something as stupid as try to crouch down. He couldn't afford for any Shadow to catch him in a moment of weakness. His helmet would only protect him from so much damage.

After a few minutes of inspecting the area as best as he could, Goro turned towards the area's exit, already having gone down all the other paths. At this point, he probably wouldn't stay here for much longer for sake of his safety. He was loathe to admit it, but Mementos was probably yet another dead end in his search for answers.

That thought made him incredibly angry. He bit his lip to avoid any outburst that he usually would have had while in the privacy of Mementos. He began to walk towards another area of Mementos, hands balling into fists as he tried to control his temper. He couldn't waste time getting into fights, even if it would be a nice source of stress relief.

He stepped towards the glowing red pathway and quickly passed through it. However, as soon as he passed through it, a sharp burning pain made itself present as he was slammed into the wall. _So much for avoiding fights,_ he thought with a pained wheeze. He blinked his eyes open to find a rather suspicious scene before him.

All of the shadows were moving as though they were guards in a Palace, instead of the ones that normally milled about in Mementos. And now they were all moving towards him with the clear intent of finishing him off.

The detective smiled. _Perfect._ He would try to interrogate one, and if that didn't work, he would destroy them and be on his merry way. If it came to that point though, he had no doubt he would lose sight of the original motivation for coming here in the first place. Preparing his weapons, Akechi quickly dove into the fight.

After a very long battle in of defeating any and all Shadows that came near him, he finally had a rather ugly looking Oni cornered.

"What in this area are you trying to protect?" He questioned, one hand on his gun and the other on his mask.

"I can't tell you. They wouldn't like it!" The Shadow turned away from the seething detective, very obviously trying not to give anything away.

Akechi was having none of this. "Well 'they' aren't here. I am! _And I'll be very unhappy if you don't tell me!"_ For good measure in exercising his point, he shot his gun, missing the Oni by inches as the bullet embedded itself in the walls of the darkly lit area.

"I won't miss next time."

The shadow whimpered and finally caved. "Upon entrance, any Shadow in this area was made to stay here and make sure no outsiders entered. 'It wasn't clean enough,' we were told."

Before Akechi could ask what the hell that meant, the shadow disappeared, leaving the black masked detective alone in the area. Sighing to himself, he holstered his gun and went about closely inspecting the place. He was starting to wish he had brought a flashlight. At least he knew that for whatever reason, there was something in here, perhaps causing the place to be dirtier than necessary, that was important.

Amidst the red and black lighting of the area, he saw it. A flash of white partially hidden by the tracks. Curiously, he walked over and bent down to pick that something up, only to pull on on end of it like a string as he brought it up to his face for closer view.

 _A white ribbon?_ He looked around the room for anything else that might seem more important. When nothing else caught his eye, the detective sighed in resignation and quickly got out a plastic bag, slipping the evidence inside.

He didn't understand these Shadows. Protecting a room because of a ribbon? What a waste of his time and effort. With nothing else motivating him forward for the night, and the threat of chains rattling in the background, Goro made his way out of Mementos.

* * *

After the assembly the next day, the Phantom Thieves had a short meeting in Akira's room to discuss the next course of action. Upon hearing that Futaba had bugged Leblanc, Sayori grew nervous, wondering how long Futaba had been spying. Had she installed cameras at one point as well?

Shaking off her own selfish worried thoughts, Sayori was glad that everyone seemed to be on the same page. Briefly she wondered if this meeting, where everyone discussed how upset it made them that one so young had such a strong distortion, was like the meeting they had before invading her own Palace.

Sayori no longer stewed in her own worried thoughts, instead only willing to focus on the present situation. Futaba had a Palace, so she was going to do her best in the heist, no matter how long it took.

 _It's my obligation to help those who can't help themselves,_ Sayori recalled her resolve as she left with the rest of the group to go to Sojiro's house.

* * *

The group stayed on the outside of Sojiro's house upon arrival, not wanting to trespass again. They did their best to imagine what Futaba's distortion might be. A prison, a labyrinth, an oasis, and hell were all tried, only for none to work.

"Sayori, what do you think it could be?" Morgana asked curiously."You were in a similar situation, don't you think?"

Sayori only shook her head. "If I try to think in Futaba's point of view, I can only go off of my own experience as I think about it. It's definitely one possibility, but I don't think Futaba thinks of her house as a festival."

As if to confirm her point, the Metaverse chimed in. The _conditions have not been met_ message only served to irritate everyone.

"We don't have nearly enough clues…" Ann mumbled, looking down in disappointment.

"If only we could ask her directly," Yusuke pondered.

Ryuji gained a stubborn look on his face. "We can. C'mon, let's go see Futaba."

"But what will we say to get in?" Makoto asked nervously.

"Well, it's not like we haven't already trespassed," Sayori said as she looked at the house, a nervous yet familiar feeling sinking into her stomach. "Let's just go in and see what we can find out from Futaba."

"Won't the door definitely be locked this time?" Makoto asked, knowing Sojiro wouldn't want to risk it.

"I'll take care of it," Morgana replied. "And I figured out where Futaba's room was when I snuck in last night."

Makoto continued to object, but everybody else had already made up their mind.

"Makoto," Sayori began with a reassuring smile on her face. "We've already faced down the mafia before. We can handle a few questions from Boss."

"Besides, he's at work right now. We should be fine," Ann added.

Makoto finally seemed to cave. With one final confirmation, Morgana got the door open and they were on their way.

* * *

"Futaba-chan?" Makoto asked, knocking on the door to the girl's room. Sayori felt a certain kind of pain stitching itself between her eyes, taking root there as she squinted in the dark hallway.

This felt wrong… but in a familiar way.

"Futaba?" the pink haired girl knocked on the door too. "You texted me and our leader right? It's been strictly business for you? Despite that, I want to communicate with you however you feel comfortable. Makoto already apologized for scaring you last night… Is there anything else we can do?"

"She texted you too?" Ryuji wrinkled his nose. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"It never really came up," Sayori said with a shrug. "Though it does make me feel nice that she decided to get into contact with me as well. I wonder why that was…"

Shaking off the thoughts, Sayori watched as the others took a different approach, calling the girl by her chosen name.

"You're listening, right, Alibaba?" Makoto tried in a firmer tone of voice. Akira looked up as his phone vibrated.

"Alibaba?" Sayori questioned. She got out her phone as well, noting with disappointment that her phone remained silent. Her head was starting to hurt and her vision got blurry. _Don't focus on it, and just let whatever is happening, happen. This is no time to fret._ Sayori didn't really care what would happen if she disappeared at that moment. Instead she leaned over Akira's shoulder and tried to give her own input.

There was a brief beat of silence on her end before Sayori decided to ask what she considered to be a selfish question. Sayori trailed off, knowing they needed to be asking more about Sojiro's house.

"Futaba… Sometimes, do you hear rain clouds?"

But they were surprised to get a response, despite never having texted the girl herself.

" _Not rain clouds, more like the static sound that the TV sometimes makes. Are rain clouds what you hear?"_

"Yeah," Sayori said, smiling a little. "Thanks to these guys, I don't hear them as much anymore. Answer as best as you can, and then we'll help you too… Just like you wanted. I think it's something to be proud of, that you came to us despite not being able to leave the house."

Sayori stayed silent after that, hoping the lack of response to her comment didn't mean anything bad.

" _Why don't you go out?"_ Akira texted, continuing on with Sayori's statement.

" _I can't leave this place."_

" _I'm going to die here."_

" _Is this going to continue?"_

The pain was a heartbeat now, but Sayori ignored it in favor of listening in on the room. There was no reaction to what Alibaba had just texted, as if it was a simple fact to her. The room was so silent it buzzed, sending a wave of shockingly familiar tinnitus through Sayori's ears as she remembered her old wish to finally be met with true silence, the constant storm in her mind becoming too much to bare.

" _Why do you think that?"_ Akira responded.

" _Why?"_

" _This place is my tomb."_

One try in the MetaNav confirmed it, they had Futaba's final keyword. Sayori trembled and shook, wanting to get away from the bedroom door as fast as possible and begin their heist. The door itself brought on so much discomfort. Sayori was afraid to open it, for reasons she could not yet fathom.

With one click on the Nav from Ryuji, the "real world" bled away. And Sayori couldn't help but yelp as something strange once again happened.

The hiccup feeling in her throat turned into the painful soreness that happened before and after a cough. Her vision clouded over and faded into black.

It happened in barely a second, unspoken words and thoughts that weren't her own surged through her head.

* * *

" _Sayori?"_

 _She really is a heavy sleeper…_

 _I swallow._

 _I can't believe I ended up doing this after all._

 _Waking her up in her own house…_

 _That really is something that a boyfriend would do, isn't it?_

 _In any case…_

 _It just feels right._

 _Outside Sayori's room, I knock on her door._

" _Sayori? Wake up, dummy…"_

 _There's no response._

 _I really didn't want to have to enter her room like this…_

 _Isn't it kind of a breach of privacy?_

 _But she really leaves me no choice._

 _I gently open the door._

* * *

Futaba sat alone in her room, her typing less enthusiastic than before. She probably had something else she could be working on, but out of curiosity she had decided to visit the Phansite. She didn't particularly like it. The person who ran it seemed to see it as a publicity stunt, and the people who made requests on it seemed to be whiners.

But what Sayori had said earlier had made her curious. How had Sayori joined the Phantom Thieves, and how had they helped her. Surprisingly, it only took her only a few seconds to get an answer.

 _That's strange. This post must have been made months ago. What's it doing at the very top?_

Futaba read it with growing concern. _I feel bad about picking on her now…_

 _Please help phantom thieves!_

 _I think my friend wants to kill herself. Her name is sayori matsu. Shes depressed all the time and lonely too! I can't really describe it in text but I mean it. Shes always talking about some school festival she wanted to go to and how she wanted to make everyone happy with her performance. I guess it got canceled and shes super broken up about it. Now shes living with some dude named goro akechi at his apartment. I think hes the one from the tv? Rly strange. I dont know what to do. i need your help phantom thieves!_

 _\- Anonymous_

Futaba gulped and quickly exited the site. Something strange must be going on, and she wasn't quite sure she wanted to know what that something was.

 **Happy anniversary, you guys! A few weeks ago, as many of you may know, this story turned a year old. My partner and I wanted to do something special for this occasion. After some thought, we decided to create a blog on Tumblr, for the stories on my account in general, but right now, mainly about A New Route. Here you could check on story progress, or ask questions about things you might be curious about, and stuff like that. Depending on how the first few weeks go will determine if it continues for long. The blog is** **tumblr dot com/blog/nevermore-the-dragon-sings. (but chsnge the "dot" to an actual dot, cause as far as I know link sharing doesn't work. I'll also put a link on my fanfic profile if that doesn't work.**

 **Anyway, please read, review, and I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. See you next time!**


	42. Chapter 41

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

Sayori was freaking out.

In the second it had taken the Nav to transport them to the desert they were in, Sayori had fallen to her knees and was currently kneeling over in the sand. Her whole body trembled as the images from just moments before replayed themselves over and over in her mind.

 _WHAT?! WHAT WAS THAT?! Just what the heck was that?!_ Sayori sniffled as she desperately tried to get a hold of her bearings. Already she could feel the concerned gazes of her friends falling over her as she lay on the sand. Morgana, who was shortest, and thus closest to her in her huddled position, tapped her on the head in a vain attempt to help steady her nerves.

"That ain't gonna help anything, Morgana," Ryuji could be heard, and Morgana stopped and began grumbling under his breath.

"Sayori? Are you okay?" Ann tried asking. "We know the keywords. Maybe we should head back for today," the model quietly suggested to Akira, who pondered the request.

"No!" Sayori somehow found the strength to leap up, waving her hands in the air. "No… We came here to help Futaba. I'm fine. Maybe the Nav just makes me seasick or something," the pink-haired girl smoothed down her sandy, rumpled clothes, avoiding the thieves suspicious glares.

"The Nav has never made any of us feel sick," Makoto said, her tone stern, her frown even moreso. "And before today, it's never had an effect on you either, Sayori."

"There's a first time for everything," Sayori defended, before taking a moment to look at the desert around her. "Besides, we have a time limit. We should at least try to make some progress today."

The others faltered in their stern glares, reminded of why they were here. Akira was the first to speak. "We'll continue on, but only if you're sure you're alright. We don't want you to faint or something if we get into a fight with Shadows."

"It won't happen again," Sayori assured, not really convinced of that herself. "We're in our regular clothes right now, anyway, so I only want to get as far as finding a good starting point. I'm alright with leaving at the first sign of danger if it comes to that."

No one was comforted by her claim, but they also knew they had a job to do at the moment. Looking around, they soon saw something shiny in the distance. It must be the tomb!

Without further delay, Morgana transformed into his bus form, and the thieves quickly began to pile into the black vehicle, optimistic at the promise of an AC. Sayori was the last one to enter, finally able to contemplate what she had seen minutes ago with a calm mind. She took a seat in the very back, away from the others as an unsettling thought suddenly struck her.

Her hand went to her neck, memories of the injuries she had sported when she had first come to this place all those months ago shooting to the forefront of her mind.

Could those images in her mind be the things she had forgotten?

All this time, could it have been that the missing memories that Goro was sure would solve the case be of her own self-inflicted death?

* * *

It only took a few quiet minutes of pondering for Sayori to begin ignoring these thoughts. They had come here with the purpose of helping someone, and that someone wasn't her. It was Futaba. Besides, it was Goro who she needed to tell, not the Phantom Thieves.

So just for now, Sayori decided that she would stop caring. She had bigger things to worry about, like the possibility of disappearing when her teammates needed her the most. As far as she could glean, what was happening to her was completely out of her control, so she could only hope that they didn't run into too many obstacles as they got closer to their destination.

Sayori was full of anticipation, but also worry, at the thought of what they might find in such a palace. She tapped her fingers on the dashboard for a few seconds, only to wonder if that was irritating Morgana.

Actually, now that she thought about it… Maybe it tickled? These were some of the idle thoughts that trickled into Sayori's mind as the featureless desert continued on around them. She leaned her head back against the seat and attempted to rest, but the stuffy air in the bus-turned-cat made it apparent immediately that it was a lost cause. Still, Sayori stayed in that position, wanting to at least make a worthy attempt.

 _It can't be too long until we arrive now… Right?_ Sayori, tiring of the cramp in the back of her neck, leaned her head forward to look out the front. The audible crack that resulted from this caused the girl to cringe. The noise also seemed to alert Makoto and Ann, who both stared at her helplessly.

"We're out of water," Ann mumbled despairingly. "I wish there was a better way to… to pack ahead for these things."

Makoto could only release a tired sigh, currently trying and failing to adjust her headband in an effort to keep her sweat-matted bangs out of her face. Sayori felt herself sweat even more. However, this time it was because she was nervous, noticing Makoto somehow managing to steer with her knees in order to rearrange her hair. On Sayori's other side, Ann was currently trying to air out her shirt.

Sayori, in her infinite wisdom, decided this was the perfect moment to bend down in order to roll down her socks, which were beginning to irritate her skin.

"How're the guys…?" Makoto could be heard asking from above. Sayori could hear Ann moan in confusion, probably about to check.

Sayori's head jerked up and slammed into the dashboard as Ann began to angrily shout. Morgana seemed to recoil, judging by the next few seconds of chaos that had the bus swerving this way and that.

When Sayori finally managed to regain her bearings, she quickly sat back up, rubbing at the bruised spot on her head with a wince. Ryuji, Akira, and Yusuke had all been knocked to the very back of the vehicle, and for whatever reason, Ann had a wrathful glare pointed directly at them.

Sayori pursed her lips, wanting to ask what had happened, but ultimately deciding against it. Besides…

"Is that it?" Yusuke asked, all of them suddenly at attention. Sayori straightened out her back, a thick feeling building in the back of her throat, yet she dared not to swallow it down.

"There we go," Makoto muttered, her eyes locking with a new determination which, until now, had been dulled with the heat.

The shine from earlier was now a defined structure. Morgana sped up as they got closer and closer to the intimidating pyramid.

Only second ago, the pounding heat had been the center of everyone's attention. Now, there was something much heavier in the air, suffocating them all with question after question. It was different among each of the thieves, but there was one common inquiry that entered their minds in one form or another…

What would they find there?

* * *

The group inspected the front of the pyramid as best they could under the suffocating heat. The heat, of course, was the most common complaint, and Sayori couldn't help but feel exasperated by it as well. Still, she didn't appreciate the animosity that was making itself present because of it.

Morgana and Ryuji always seemed to be at each other's throats, and everyone had been advising her that it was pointless to try to solve anything, but the pounding sun on their backs was making everyone, Sayori especially, incredibly impatient.

"The AC ain't workin' at all! The hell was that lukewarm air about!?" Ryuji glared bitterly at Morgana, who immediately became defensive.

"That was the best I could do, so quit your yapping!" the black not-a-cat responded, hopping angrily in place.

"For real, you are so half-assed!"

"What was that!? You wanna fight, punk!?"

"Cut it out, you guys," Sayori tried to yell, though it sounded more like a whine. "I hate it when people fight, and none of us need to be on bad terms when we have stuff we need to do here!" She rubbed the bridge of her nose, sensing a headache beginning to form.

Though clearly still bitter towards one another, the two decided to quickly back off, rather than face Sayori when she was upset. This itself was bad enough, as Sayori had a nasty habit of making puppy-dog eyes that seemed to have the power to make anyone with common sense and a conscience get on their knees and beg for forgiveness. Yet recently, it held the added risk of incurring the wrath of any and every person nearby that Sayori held favor with.

"To think her palace would be a pyramid…" Makoto mused, turning to look at the large structure. Everyone else followed suit.

"Hey, a pyramid a tomb, right?" Ryuji wondered aloud.

"Yes. It's a pharaoh's tomb." Yusuke confirmed, examining the tomb closely. It was evident that he was looking at it with a painter's eye. Sayori wondered if anything would come of it.

"That's how it's mostly known. There are a variety of theories on it," Makoto began to explain. "For instance, it's even said to be a device for reviving the dead."

"If that's true, do you think there could be…" Sayori began hesitantly, not really liking the morbid train of thought she was on. She rubbed her neck nervously.

"Could be what?" Akira asked. All of the Phantom Thieves were curious, turning to the pink haired girl with questioning looks.

"It's kind of stupid now that I think harder about it… But this palace was formed because Futaba blames herself for her mother's death, right?" Sayori pondered, noting with a bleak expression that some of the Phantom Thieves were seeing where she was going. Unable to keep the worst scenario she could possibly think of out of her head, after all these facts, and especially after those things she had seen earlier, Sayori decided to get the idea off her chest.

"Do you think there could be… corpses or something in there?"

"Hm… Probably not," Morgana thought aloud. "I imagine anything in there will be alive… alive and ready to try to stop us."

"Well, if that is so, than I will say," Yusuke began, looking at the pyramid, confirming everyone's suspicions about his train of thought, "It's beautiful nonetheless… It's perfectly conformed to the golden ratio…"

"Hey, guys, can we go in already?" Ryuji moaned. "I'm gonna melt…"

Everybody easily agreed to that sentiment, and they all began heading up the stairs and into the tomb.

* * *

 _Thank goodness… I think I'd die if it were as hot in here as it was outside._

Everyone was ecstatic that the pyramid itself wouldn't bake them like an oven, and they easily began to run through the palace. The place had many walls, meaning that their only current option was to take the stairs in front of them. They seemed to lead into the heart of the pyramid, and with Morgana's increased eagerness, Makoto quickly hypothesized that the treasure would be at this heart.

This put Sayori on edge… after all, as a game, this was supposed to present them with a challenge that must be defeated. If things seemed this easy now, Sayori fully expected that things were about to go downhill fast. Not to mention, despite the refreshing cool air, the palace itself was riddled with an oppressive energy that set everyone on edge.

They continued to move, the less athletic members of the group quickly developing a fear that running up the stone steps would cause them to trip and die. They could only hope that they wouldn't have to battle any enemies on the stairs. Afterall, nobody thought that splitting their heads open on the stairs was the ideal way to die while infiltrating a palace.

Sayori was so busy watching where she was going, that she didn't notice the new figure in front of them until Morgana called them out. It made sense, as the oppressive energy seemed a bit stronger, yet at the same time, still not what Sayori thought was the strongest it could be.

"Hm? There's someone there!" Morgana exclaimed. The group quickly approached the fancily dressed girl.

"Hey, is this…?" Ryuji trailed off, studying the girl, who was dressed in a simple white fabric skirt, top, and wraps hanging from her arms, yet bedecked in enough jewelry to please a sultan.

"That's Futaba's Shadow. It isn't the real her." Morgana explained.

Sayori cocked her head to the side as everyone talked amongst themselves for a few seconds, noting the rigid way the Shadow simply stood there. It was unnerving that she seemed so good at ignoring them. Sayori could have mistaken her for a very life-like statue, had it not been for the way Shadow Futaba caught her gaze. As Sayori tilted her head to the other side, the ginger-haired girl's eyes followed her, seeming to move like the Mona Lisa.

"So you're Futaba Sakura," Makoto addressed the Shadow gently. This caused her to finally respond, though only her lips moved, releasing a gentle sigh.

"Hey, where's the Treasure?" Ryuji questioned, walking up to Shadow Futaba.

"It's doubtful that you wouldn't know where it is," Makoto added knowingly.

"Hey, say something," Ryuji was about to wave a hand in front of the girl's face, only for Ann to quickly scold him.

Ann quickly walked up to the Shadow, intending to mend any tension. "I'm sorry, Futaba-chan. It's OK, there's no need to be scared."

"Yeah," Sayori added with a big smile, breaking the staring contest she had been preoccupied with. "We're here to help you, just like you asked. With that in mind, could you maybe consider pointing us in the direction of what's causing you so much distress." _Before I step on a floor tile trap or something cliche and we totally all get murdered… I don't like this feeling I'm getting at all…_

After a moment of silence from the shadow, everyone was beginning to think the Shadow was incapable of speech. "This is going nowhere," Yusuke couldn't help but mutter.

Ryuji turned his attention away from Shadow Futaba completely, instead facing the Phantom Thieves. "Let's just leave her," he proposed.

Ann was rather irked at this. "Will you guys shut up for a bit!?"

The lack of attention on her seemed to spur the Shadow into action, for now she finally spoke.

" _Those who plunder my tomb. Why have you come?"_

Sayori felt a shiver run down her spine at the evident hostility in the Shadow's voice. _Don't like this feeling… I don't like it at all._

"What're you sayin'? You want us to steal it, right?" Ryuji questioned, tilting his head to the side.

" _If you believe you can steal it, then try as you might."_

"That's rather defiant sounding," Morgana observed with a frown.

"Fu… Futaba-chan?" Sayori whispered, finally taking her turn to step towards the Shadow. She reached out to the girl, originally aiming to perhaps take the girl's hands in her own, or maybe even give her a hug. But she recoiled, thinking better of it, and decided that using her words might be best for now. "We… You and I are friends… Maybe? You texted me, didn't you? There's no reason to get hostile with us."

 _Considering the state my Palace is in… There is no way that you can steal it."_ Shadow Futaba spoke as if Sayori hadn't.

It was then that something unexpected happened. Voices echoed loudly off the walls, strange and unfamiliar… All saying terrible things.

 _Creepy child…_

 _You killed her!_

 _You're a plague!_

"What are these voices?" Yusuke questioned, grimacing.

Sayori backed away from the Shadow, attempting to give the girl space as she kneeled and recoiled, gripping the sides of her head with both hands.

 _Murderer!_

 _Why don't you say something!?_

"Murderer…?" Makoto trailed off.

 _You're the one who killed her!_

 _This is all your fault!_

The voices began to bleed and mesh, alarming everyone even further.

"This is horrible…" Ann said quietly.

"Hey, the hell is this?" Ryuji asked, obviously freaked out.

The voices continued, and Shadow Futaba finally stood up, though now she resembled a faded out ghost. " _That's right, I did it."_

" _I am the one who killed my mother."_

At those words, the entire Palace trembled, and something that sounded like a wail and a roar echoed down the hall. Everyone looked around in alarm.

"What was that!?" Ann yelled.

" _My mother exists here."_ At those words, Shadow Futaba raised her arms and floated up, fading into nothingness.

" _I will remain here. I will do so until I die."_

The Phantom Thieves clothes were suddenly transformed into their Thief outfits, alarming everyone further.

"Our clothes…!?"

"She sees us as a threat now… What's going on!?"

Another rumble shook the palace, causing everyone to stumble. Yet this time it didn't stop, feeling as if an earthquake was making its way toward them. Before anyone had a chance to question what was going on, a giant, round boulder fell from the ceiling and began rolling towards them.

"Oh crap…! Bad, bad, bad! Run!" Morgana shouted, quite panicked as he bounced around. Nobody argued, instead choosing to barrel towards the entrance to the tomb.

Nobody noticed until it was nearly too late that Sayori hadn't moved a muscle since those awful voices had ceased, a look of pure shock and worry contorting her features, her eyes blurry and unfocused as she stared at her shoes.

"Sayori! You need to move!" Ann screamed, grabbing the girl roughly by the arm and dragging her forward. That progress proved to be slow, Sayori still seeming to be stuck in her own trance.

Ryuji grumbled, flinging the girl over his shoulder and pounding down the stairs.

After a perilous descent down the stairs, the thieves finally made it through the entrance. Diving to the side, they just barely managed to avoid getting crushed by the giant boulder. The pyramid's entrance sealed shut behind them.

"We're safe… That was too close…" Makoto sighed in relief as she glanced at the now destroyed pillars that had once been outside the entrance.

"Sayori!" Ryuji shouted, waving a hand in front of the pink haired girl's face. Sayori blinked, finally beginning to exit her stupor, yet the fragile look on her face told her no one was going to like the result of the scolding that was about to occur.

"I get that this shit probably messes with you a lot! But you can't just stand still when we need all hands on deck!" The blond screamed, slamming a gloved palm to his forehead.

"I…" Sayori began, trying not to let the bite in the words cut her too deep. However, before she could get two words out, she could already feel her lips beginning to quiver. Before Ryuji could notice this and apologize, she bowed her head meekly. "I'm sorry, for endangering us all… I think it's safe to say that I… we are in no condition to continue moving forward. So…"

Sayori bit her lip, hoping to mask the quiver in her words. "Please take us home now… I would like to go home."

With no other way to progress for the day, the other Phantom Thieves quickly agreed. For today, the Phantom Thieves were making a tactical retreat back home.

* * *

Futaba sat alone in her room. As always, her attention was on the screen in front of her. She was typing furiously, the incident that had occured only a few hours prior had attracted her attention.

Afterall, that post had probably been made months ago…

Futaba, obviously, was very intent on finding out what she could about Sayori Matsu.

It could almost be considered random, what happened next. The ginger-haired girl suddenly stopped typing, pushed up her glasses, and looked nervously around the room. Suddenly, Futba a cringed.

Tucking her knees into her chest, the girl couldn't help the whimper that escaped her.

"This… again…"

She could hear the voices.

She could feel her mother's hateful gaze on her back, and she dared not turn around to meet her eyes. She didn't deserve to.

She didn't deserve to live.

"No… Please. Someone help me," she begged quietly.

* * *

Sayori was obviously up to something with the Phantom Thieves.

These were Goro's main thoughts as he grumpily went about his apartment, cleaning the place up as best as he could with the limited cleaning supplies he had. However, with his frustrated mindset, he was probably doing more harm than good.

After what seemed like hours of contemplating what the Phantom Thieves could possibly be doing to defeat the Medjed posers, the detective realized with a sigh that perhaps he was scrubbing the walls a bit too hard. Afterall, when one was cleaning, it was normally not a goal to scrub something so much that the paint started coming off.

 _I should probably find something to cover this up…_ he thought, musing over the large scar on the cream colored walls. The apartment had come with the walls already this color, so he couldn't just paint over it, since he didn't know the exact shade.

Maybe he had a picture or something he could place over it?

With nothing else better to do, Goro retreated into his room in hopes of raiding his desk for something appropriate to cover the wall with. It would have been an excellent distraction, if not for the fact that he would have to sort through different files and documents that only reminded him of why he currently felt like jumping off of a bridge.

 _There's that file that Sae let me borrow. She probably needs it back by now…_ With that in mind, Goro quickly took it out of the drawer and placed it on his desk, intending to give it to Sae when he saw her next at work. He continued sorting through different papers, coming across several which he quickly crammed into the very bottom of the drawers.

The very few pieces of research on cognitive psience he had were worthless to him now. He was only allowed to see the ones that allowed him to do the tasks Shido gave him. Perhaps, instead of hiding them, he should just get rid of them. But how exactly could he do that? For whatever reason, the people who had mailed it to him under a veil of anonymity refused to take them back.

He made a mental note to just get some matches and burn the cursed sheets later, and began sorting through another drawer. He had completely abandoned the idea of finding anything suitable to hang on the wall in the previous one. All this experience had done him was awaken him to the fact that he really needed to reorganize this desk, and also get a lock for it, for the more confident pieces of information.

Rifling through the next drawer was also a rather worthless experience. Just some old records of previous homes he had once been forced into, a few early report cards that foster parents had never cared enough to sign, and a copy of the lease for his apartment. Nothing appropriate to pin to the wall.

He sighed and prepared to slam the drawer shut, only to spot the corner of a vastly different piece of paper near the bottom.

The once vibrant pink paper was now faded and wrinkled with age, and Goro found himself holding his breath as he delicately pulled it out of the drawer, afraid of making the slightest tear. He couldn't believe how easy it was to forget he had this…

 _I'm so horrible to forget this. Wasn't it her favorite?_

He forced himself to remain calm as he silently read the words over and over. The original Chinese, he remembered, had been too difficult for him to read, so right above was a messy translation carefully written down in Japanese. He brought one finger and traced the written words, noting with a frown that the ink was fading.

He couldn't have that now… It was valuable evidence. It was proof that he, at one point, had someone who truly cared about him… and even wanted the best for him…

As soon as those thoughts entered his head, Goro immediately felt guilty. He reopened the drawer to slip the paper back inside and forget this had ever happened, when he heard the door gently creak open.

Sayori slipped her head through the doorway, looked around the room quickly, and stepped the rest of the way inside, quietly shutting the door behind her.

Was she hoping he wasn't there?

Goro continued to observe from his kneeling position on his bedroom floor as Sayori inched her way towards the couch, her entire body seeming stiff. She hadn't noticed him yet, judging by how she now sat with a slump and a heavy sigh.

The detective was beginning to feel hurt by the girl's actions. Did she really not hope he was there!? His eyes narrowed and his frown deepened. He quietly began to rise from his crouching position, intending to startle the girl and cheerfully question her demeanor. That would make her guilty! Would serve her right when he had just been mentally defending her-

The entirety of his being did a one-eighty as she put her hands to her face and a loud sob tore itself out of her throat.

Completely abandoning any plan he had once held, the detective gripped the paper in his hand even tighter, stood up completely, and crossed the floor to Sayori in only four strides. It would have been three… had he not controlled himself in time and refrained from vaulting over the rocking chair which had previously been blocking her view of him.

"Sayori!" The detective shouted, causing the weeping girl to jump slightly. "What's wrong!?"

"Wha…?" Sayori's head whipped from side to side, wondering where the detective had come from. "Goro! You startled me!" She turned back in his direction to whine, only to find that in the two seconds she had been looking away from him, he was now as close as he could be to her, without having their noses touch.

"What's wrong?" He asked again.

Sayori looked away from his stubborn gaze, attempting to smile. "It's… It's nothing you need to concern yourself with, Goro. I've just been… having a rough day. That's all."

"Something tells me that you're lying, Sayori," Goro observed, hand on his chin. "I don't mean to interrogate you or anything, but if you don't tell me what's distressing you… Well…"

The confident smirk he sent her gave Sayori instant paranoia. She looked at him with wide eyes, trying to figure out what was on the detective's inquisitive mind.

"Do you mean… no…"

"That's right," Goro confirmed with a nod. "No dates, and no cuddling either until you tell me what's bothering you."

Sayori gasped in heartbreak. "But that would mean you wouldn't get any either!" She tried to object, before sniffling a bit. "Wow… You really must care…" Sayori internally debated with herself, deciding that maybe, just as long as she didn't go into too much detail, it was alright to tell the detective some things.

Besides, maybe he had advice she could use.

"Well… it's just that recently… I made a new friend. My other friends and I have been trying to help her with something that… is making her really, really miserable and sad." Sayori could have laughed at herself for that understatement. "...Today, I found out that everything is much worse than I originally thought."

Sayori had known about the illusions Futaba was having, and about her blaming herself for her mother's death. But knowing now that she viewed her own home as a tomb, made everything about today's journey to the Palace feel like a harsh slap to the face.

"How much worse?" Goro questioned gently, motioning for her to continue.

"Well… I'm sorry… I just don't feel right telling you that much," Sayori shook her head sadly. "It would be a breach of her privacy to tell you that, I think." She sighed and slumped against the couch.

"Well, maybe instead you could tell me about that something that's causing her so much misery," The detective questioned.

Upon receiving Sayori's slight glare, he made the wise decision to backtrack a little. "Of course, if you don't feel that it would be right to do so, then it's alright. However, you can also describe it as vaguely as you want. I promise I won't pry any further… I just want to help you as best as I can."

Sayori rubbed the back of her head nervously and sighed. "Fine. It's just that, she blames herself for this really bad thing that happened to someone close to her. It's causing her a lot of difficulty throughout the day, which is a problem, because we need her help for something really important right now… So we're trying to help her as quickly as possible."

"But after today, you don't have as much confidence as you used to that you can help as quickly as you wished?" The detective pondered aloud, before realizing with a start what he had said. "I apologize! I was just pondering, not trying to pry or anything." He waved his hands in a rapid gesture of dismissal, and Sayori couldn't help but chuckle.

"No… It's okay. That was basically right on the money…" Sayori sighed and seemed to be attempting to just melt into the couch. "Besides, you said you wanted to help. Knowing what I'm going through is needed if you want to do that… And, it's not just that… I just, felt that I related to her on some level when we met up today."

"In a bad way?"

Sayori nodded. "I get the feeling that in some way, even you could probably relate to her." Now it was her turn to look startled. "Ah! Wait! No! Forget I said anything!"

"I didn't even mean to do that," the detective chuckled to himself, knowing he had just found a crack in Sayori's wall of ever-growing secrets. He decided he might as well try to break that crack down just a bit further.

"How do you think I could relate to her?" He questioned, remembering to sound gentle, and not too eager. "I know this counts as prying… but if this concerns me in any way, I think it's alright to make an exception to my promise, don't you?"

"No," Sayori said, a deadpan expression on her face. "I have nothing else to say. Give me your advice now, please. Otherwise, I'm going to bed…"

The detective put a hand to his chin in contemplation, before a wide smile spread across his face, a devious light forming in his eyes. "Well, if you won't say anymore, I suppose I'll have to analyze this, won't I?"

"Let's see what I know so far… I believe the most important things from what you said are that you and I can both relate to her." Goro looked to see Sayori remaining stubbornly silent. "You're neither confirming or denying it, hm? I'll take that as confirmation then. So I believe the next important statements involve the fact that this unnamed girl blames herself for something bad happening to another, and the severity of how much she blames herself."

Sayori couldn't help but cringe, further digging her own grave at this point. The detective smiled kindly, giving her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, which she grumpily swatted away.

"I believe with this, I can put together a vague picture. I am linking you to the severity, and myself to the fact that… Wait… Wait!"

Sayori let a smile grace her features this time. "I already thought so before, but now you've confirmed it… So Goro, can I ask you once more about _your_ mother?"

The way she said that lead to several conclusions piecing themselves together in the detective's head. He said nothing of them, though now he had a much clearer vision of what Sayori and her group of Phantom Thieves were up to. And because of the earlier experience in the subway, he could definitely confirm who the Thieves were as well…

With this knowledge, he decided it would only be fair to give Sayori what she wanted. "What do you want to ask about her?"

"Well… I don't remember my own," she said thoughtfully, _I'm not even sure I have one_ , "and I just want to ask… How exactly do you cope with her death, especially since you basically just confirmed that you also… blame yourself. I mean, you gave yourself a very hard time when we first talked about her… I guess I didn't want to think about it like that at first." She was beginning to ramble and she knew it, so she decided to close her mouth and let the detective think about her question.

It was laughable to think that he coped very well. Afterall, any therapist would probably say that plotting your revenge was an incredibly unhealthy way to spend one's time. Still, Sayori did deserve a reasonable explanation… Something to make what she was about to do a bit less taxing.

He finally remembered the paper he had clutched in his hand, and it gave him an idea he hoped would work. He uncurled his hand and showed it to Sayori, who inspected it curiously.

"My favorite songs that my mother sang were always about rain, but this was her favorite thing to perform. It's more of a poem than a song, though. But you like poems, so maybe this could provide you with a totem of some sort." Goro extended his hand further, and Sayori hesitantly took it.

"Thank you, but I don't know if I can take it if it's important to you…" Sayori absorbed the words of the poem carefully even as she spoke. She tasted the words on her tongue and couldn't help the hope and confidence that was beginning to build inside of her. It had been too long since she had read a poem belonging to someone else.

"It's fine… I remember that my mother always compared me to the protagonist of the poem. I suppose the part of both of us being born into loneliness is accurate, but that's always been where the similarities between us ended."

"I think your mother had a point…" Sayori trailed off, before hugging the poem to her chest in gratitude. "Though if you don't want it anymore, perhaps I could give it to F- my friend when this is all over? I get the feeling she might appreciate it.

Goro almost objected, before sighing to himself. "I think that it would be alright. I already have the poem memorized, and things as beautiful as it are meant to be shared…"

The kiss on his cheek he received made his entire face turn a light pink. He supposed that was Sayori's way of showing him gratitude for successfully helping her feel better.

However, the information he had gained was more than enough to thank him.

* * *

They met in Akira's room at Leblanc the next day. They were definitely going into that palace today, and so after checking that Sojiro wasn't there to hear them, the group immediately began discussing what they would be doing.

Sayori did her best to concentrate on the topics being discussed. Afterall, as Ann had pointed out the day before, her and Futaba were similar, in the fact that neither of them were considered to be evil, but they still had palaces. Sayori probably wouldn't be able to provide too much valuable input, but she still wanted to do her best to contribute.

However, there was something else on the girl's mind, or rather, the absence of something. It made Sayori constantly on edge, looking at her hands nervously, constantly anticipating the worst.

But it hadn't been since earlier the previous day that the girl had disappeared. It didn't make any sense. With the time limit she had previously established, she should have disappeared at least once while in the Mona Car!

She could only be hopeful that those episodes of disappearing had passed for good…

"Sayori, what do you think?" Akira asked.

Sayori let a small smile grace her features. "I wasn't as confident after what happened yesterday, but today I'm feeling good about things…" That was one semi-successful attempt at lightening the mood. Her smile was contagious, it seemed.

"Though I would like to not be tripped up by another earthquake, please and thank you," Sayori looked around the room, wondering if Futaba could hear them from that room.

"Yes, I am sure there is some mental reasoning behind it, but constantly getting shaken around makes it harder to take in the view," Yusuke replied idly. Everyone rolled their eyes, yet smiles still graced their lips.

"If that's all we have to say, we should get going," Akira announced, bringing up the MetaNav on his phone.

Everyone gave a single, solitary nod of agreement. With one click of a button, the "real" world faded away.

* * *

Sayori was glad to not be shaken up by any more visions. It made exploring the distorted region of Futaba's heart that much easier to concentrate on.

For now though, as they reinvestigated the main entrance, searching for a way past the gated off area, Sayori had easily agreed to hanging back on the sidelines, trailing behind while Joker lead three of the others farther ahead.

After several minutes of the walls, running up and down the stairs over and over again, double checking to see if there were any turns they had missed, and pushing against randow sections of walls to see if there were any secret passages, the group finally gave up on that approach.

It was only as they were preparing to leave to investigate the small desert town they had seen earlier, that they finally gained a lead.

" _Are you leaving?"_

Everyone turned to see Shadow Futaba at the bottom of the staircase they had just climbed.

" _Come back here. Let's talk for a moment."_

The group complied, runnin down to meet the Shadow that, despite seeing them as threats, didn't seem very hostile towards them at the moment. Upon reaching them, the ginger-haired girl offered them a deal.

After a few brief exchanges, the Phantom Thieves finally had an idea on what to do next. All they had to do to obtain the information was chase down a grave robbing bandit in the desert town and steal something back from it.

 _Running around a hot desert town in tight black clothes… Hm…_

As they were leaving the tomb, Skull looked over at the pink-haired thief and did a double take. "Valiant!? Did you bring a freakin' sunhat with you?"

"Yes…"

"Where did ya even put it!?"

"That's not important… What is important is that I brought enough for anyone else who wants it!" Valiant replied with a smile as Mona turned into his bus from behind them. She pulled out a large stack of sun hats from behind her shield, looking like the unholy combination of a flower girl and a magician as she did so. "I have this really cute one with a white skullete over a black bow…"

"No thanks…" Skull grumbled. "I have more pride than that!"

"You know you want to…"

"No!"

* * *

"Give that damn hat to me right now!"

Valiant giggled as she ran up to Skull's side and tossed him the sunhat. The blond wiped the sweat from his brow and pulled the humiliating accessory on, before picking up the pace as best as he could.

The Phantom Thieves had found the bandit they were looking for, and were now pursuing it with all they had. It was tedious work of chasing, hiding, and attempting to corner the stupid Shadow.

Eventually, they did manage to trap him in the square. And just as expected, there was no negotiating with it.

Valiant quickly took a spot in the ensuing battle against the raging golden bird. It was a feisty, quick creature. Aside from attacking them with harsh desert winds, and attempting to brainwash them, the large hostile beastie had a habit of attempting to lash out at them with its talons.

Sayori could only thank whatever higher power there was in her unreality that the Bird God didn't think to utilize its tail, as she was already having enough trouble blocking the slashes and wind with her shield.

After what seemed like forever, Sayori was finally too worn out to continue fighting. Forget mind control, the Shadow was going to beat them simply because she was too exhausted to continue fighting.

"Valiant! Good job!" Panther shouted, holding her hand out eagerly. "Let me take your spot. We're on the offensive now!"

Sayori gladly obliged, and watched with an almost creepy sense of joy as Panther unleashed a large volley of fire, and Joker shot it with his gun. From there, the battle was almost immediately won as the Thieves swarmed the Shadow and gave it all they had.

They celebrated their victory, picked up a fallen papyrus that the bandit had dropped, and headed back towards the tomb to claim their reward.

* * *

"We're back. This is the thing you said they stole, right?" Skull asked.

Shadow Futaba remained mostly motionless, save for the movement of her mouth. " _Well done. It is yours now."_

"Wait, what…?" Panther questioned, looking equal parts shocked and confused. "Didn't you want us to get it back because it's important?"

" _This is a map of the tomb, stolen by the bandit to aid in his ransacking of this place,"_ Shadow Futaba explained, unrolling the map and handing it to Joker.

"Why are you letting them just do whatever they want?" Queen questioned. "This is your Palace, isn't it?"

"And why are you helping us? We're seen as a threat, right?" Valiant questioned. "I'm confused…" Hadn't the shadow mentioned something during one of the earthquakes yesterday? Something about…

" _All that matters is that the map is now yours. Just come further in and… Oh."_

The tomb rumbled. Thankfully, the Phantom Thieves had an easier time staying on their feet. Not that it mattered…

Shadow Futaba once again disappeared. Fox was investigating the ground as the girl rose off of it. Perhaps there was simply something wrong with the floor to cause this unsettling turn of-

All of the Phantom Thieves suddenly felt the air leave their lungs as gravity pressed down harshly on them.

Nobody should have been surprised when they looked up to find the floor had opened underneath them.

* * *

After a long and treacherous fall, and a laborious swim through rushing quick sand, Valiant almost didn't notice that all of her sun hats had fallen off of her person. Not that it really mattered to her at this point.

They were all exhausted. Futaba was constantly pushing them away. For every step forward they made, it felt as if she purposefully pushed them two steps back.

However, they weren't ready to give up for the day. They had to at least find their way out of the pit they had been dropped into. If they left like this, then the next time they came back, they would only end up in an even deeper rut.

The Phantom Thieves had to prove they could persevere in any situation!

Even if Futaba wanted to push them away, they would push back and give her all the help they possibly could!

With those thoughts in mind, the band of thieves began the long trek up towards the surface.

* * *

The long twisting passage up to the light filled doorway was proving to be perilous journey. At every corner, the Thieves came across a Shadow, which only further hindered their path.

Valiant's knees were beginning to cramp from crouching so much. Her breath was growing more ragged by the second. Thankfully, despite their exhaustion, Joker spared no effort in making sure each battle was easily won.

They were so close to the exit, and not once had Joker let any Shadow get the jump on them. It was admirable, how he directed each of the tired and irritable teens that followed behind him to one new corner to hide in after another. It was this effort that made all of them work harder.

Her arms ached. Valiant was sure they were about to fall off. She glanced down from the statue she was currently trying to climb and gave Fox a sheepish grin.

"My arms are jelly, Fox. Would you mind giving me a lift?"

The artist looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding with a kind smile. "Of course. Anything to help."

Sayori felt all warm and gooey inside. She considered all of the Phantom Thieves her friends, but something about the artist's bizarre nature often managed to put a smile on her face when she needed it the most. She straightened out her legs, waiting for the blue-haired thief to lift her up by them.

She yelped and nearly toppled both of them over when he wrapped his arms around her and began to hoist her up. Sayori normally didn't see anything wrong with this. Panther, on the other hand…

"Fox! What are you thinking!?" The red clad thief pried the clueless artist off of Sayori. "That's not the appropriate way to handle her, and you know it!"

"You would think they take you on enough shopping trips for Fox to gain more situational awareness," Queen muttered. "I guess not. I'll help you up, Valiant."

"Thank you, Queen," Sayori replied gratefully as Makoto lifted her by her feet and climbed up after her.

Panther was still scolding Fox as they made it up the last floor level to the shining door.

* * *

Sayori sank to her knees as soon as the hot air of the outside met her face.

"We made it out!" Skull exclaimed, as though he couldn't quite believe it. "Damn it's hot though. My ass is all sweaty."

"I don't want to hear that word ever again if I can help it," Fox muttered, sheepishly avoiding Panther's angry glare. "Please… I understand I have committed a wrongdoing. Can we please just forget about it? Valiant doesn't seem to care."

Sayori looked up from her spot on the ground, where she had happily been laying on the brick platform, content with her new role as a floor mat, and nodded in understanding. "You're fine, Fox. You just startled me…"

"You have a boyfriend!" Panther shouted incredulously.

"I'm not going to get mad at Fox for not knowing any better. Besides, after how you chewed him out, I'm willing to bet it's a one time thing…"

Fox nodded eagerly. "The important thing is that we have secured our escape route. We can finally go about exploring this place now."

"Let's use this as our entrance from here forward," Queen proposed. "It should be more stable than the front."

No one objected to that. They were all thoroughly worn out after the back and forth, as well as their near fall to their doom.

Suffice to say, that was the end of their exploration that day. The rest of the day would be spent recuperating for their next step in infiltrating the tomb.

* * *

 _So I definitely know who the Phantom Thieves are now. The talking cat, as well as their reaction to Medjed, confirmed it…_

Goro Akechi stared at the files now laying on his desk in deep contemplation. This was the second day in a row where Sayori was once again going off on excursions to a palace. Now that summer vacation had finally started, it was useless to say she was going to the gardening club, so she was simply saying that she would be hanging out with her friends.

"With the cleanse happening in a few weeks, they must have found a plausible way to deal with Medjed. But what?"

The talk with Sayori the previous day, though informative, was causing his head to spin in confused circles. There were no members of the fake Medjed whose name starts with an F, and furthermore, why would the Phantom Thieves be trying to help an enemy cope with the death of a loved one… Much less a mother?

 _Perhaps rather than dealing with Medjed directly, they have found another way to do it? Or perhaps they are having someone else do it for them?_

He was currently scrolling through the Phansite at a rapid pace, searching for anybody who matched the conditions Sayori had vaguely described.

It was a rather pointless effort, as the police were always monitoring it thoroughly, and had yet to find a thing like it… At least according to Sae.

 _The poor woman… She's helping me despite being so busy herself. Didn't she finally manage to get what she wanted in regards to the case with that cafe owner…?_

The detective stopped dead in his tracks as that thought entered his mind.

Sae was investigating a man that, according to police information, was housing Akira Kurusu. This case had to do with Wakaba, who had a daughter…

 _Futaba Sakura… It matches up so perfectly. It's almost too coincidental to be believed._

Before he could stop himself, the detective opened up the MetaNav and entered in Futaba's name.

When the name was confirmed, the detective stared at his phone for several long minutes.

 _Shit…_ With trembling hands, he quickly shut the phone down and dropped it into a desk drawer, slamming it shut. Hands now in the form of shaking fists, Goro began to angrily beat his pillow as he flopped down on his mattress.

 _This is so outrageous, I think I'm about to puke!_ Already the detective seemed to be going into a hysterical state.

Lately, his stupid conscience was finally beginning to feel remorse and guilt for things that had happened years before… All because he had been reminded of the mother from his own past.

 _She really wouldn't have wanted this at all… I'm such a fool. It took housing the human equivalent of a cinnamon roll for me to realize all of this…_

His mother had always compared him to the protagonist of her favorite poem. In her eyes, he was always a thing of unappreciated beauty. He was selfless, kind, and chivalrous…

In her eyes, he was the beautiful, pure thing that others beat down and ripped apart out of spite and hatred.

 _Reality has become so much more cruel, Mother,_ Akechi thought with a heave, now only able to kneel down and start sobbing. _In this regard, it almost makes me happy you aren't here anymore. You won't have to bare the thought that your son is the spiteful, hateful one that rips apart what few pure things remain in this damned place._

Despite the self hatred that was crashing around inside of him… there was still that one small voice that dared to argue back.

 _Not all pure things have been destroyed… Not yet._

But they would be eventually. That was the penalty for being around him… for rooting for him.

Deep down, it had always been obvious that happiness and victory for him would only be the suffering and destruction of others. He wasn't meant to protect the pure things, or be one of them.

All he could do was push them away, and keep them from getting damaged by him.

And yet… despite all of these facts… The memories of kind blue eyes, and that adorable smile, always filled him with dangerous hope.

Even if it was just for a moment, Goro Akechi wanted to believe in the special few he cared about.

He wanted to hope that Sayori was right… when she said his mother had a point.

But in order to do that, he had to prove it to himself as well.

 **Nothing like celebrating Mother's Day late with some angst about dead moms. Am I right? Please let me know what you think by leaving a review. If you want to, I have a blog for my writing on tumblr now. I haven't gotten to do much with it, but so far I've had fun with it. Please read, review, and I'll see you all next time!**


	43. Chapter 42

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

It was only the beginning of their next visit to Futaba's Palace, and already the group of thieves had run into trouble. This trouble came in the form of a large golden coffin, which was frustratingly difficult to deal with. The grotesque hand that peeked out with the soul purpose of defeating them only added to their chagrin.

However, this only served to make the victory that followed all the more satisfying. As the shadow coffin faded into oblivion, Joker gestured for his team to follow. The others hurried after, keeping a vigilant eye out for any other foes.

"You did so well, Valiant," Panther quietly praised from their spot at the back of the group. "You held your own for so long. It's a shame it didn't last."

"Yeah," Valiant replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. "I'm really craving cheese because of that… I'm glad you guys ended the fight pretty quickly."

"Ah, don't mention it," Skull added from his own spot in the middle. "Let's just try not to get turned into mice again. You already fill up on pancakes most of the time anyway, Val."

"Oh, cut him some slack," The pink haired thief defended, though the smile on her face made it seem half hearted.

The group continued to quietly banter and tease as they made their way further into the Palace. It wasn't long until they came across something very interesting.

"What's this? Some kind of giant bow and arrow thing?" Skull asked as the Phantom Thieves observed the large structure.

"This is a stationary weapon back from the middle ages called a ballista," Queen explained.

"You even know about stuff like this, Queen?," Panther questioned in shock. "I guess that's pretty fitting for you."

"Why does this place even have a ballista?" Valiant asked curiously, stretching her arm out over the ledge they were on, but unable to touch the weapon from where it rested on its crooked perch. "There doesn't seem to be anything threatening around that's big enough to warrant this thing. If it's meant for smaller enemies, that bandit from earlier had no trouble stealing from this place, and we aren't either…"

"Well, we have had trouble," Fox mumbled. "Just none from the likes of this weapon."

"Well, there's an arrow in here," Queen gestured to the large wooden barrel, which held a massive, spear-like object. "But it seems to be broken. On top of that, it's slanted away."

The group pondered their findings before moving to a higher area to continue their inspection of the area. After once more hopping over broken bridges, climbing over ledges, and taking out a couple more shadows for good measure, they found something even more worthy of their attention.

The group inspected the green orb closely, as well as the room it was contained in. Fox seemed especially interested in the reflective properties of the contraption, while Queen took note of the walls that the light lead to. The stone seemed more crumbled the closer it got to the light, as if something had been trying to bash the wall in from the other side.

Continuing forward, the group found something incredible. It was something so tantalizing, so irresistible, so alluring, that no thief could ever pass up the opportunity to investigate further.

Joker eyed the bright orange button, the other thieves practically breathing down his neck as they hovered only inches away from the glowing stone. He began to reach out a tentative gloved hand, only for Queen to lightly object.

"Maybe we shouldn't…" the strategist warned. "It could be a trap of some kind."

"What kind of trap could it possibly be if it's this obvious?" Skull asked rhetorically, a smirk on his face.

"I suppose there is only one way to find out," Fox murmured after a moment. Everyone nodded, some, like Mona, very eagerly, while others, Queen, were far more hesitant. With the nods of confirmation, Joker wasted no time in pushing the large orange stone into the panel it rested on.

A sound akin to thunder pushing against wind echoed in their ears before a large crash caught the Phantom Thieves attention. The arrow from the ballista had created a large hole in the wall containing the room they had just been in. Now the light from the orb was spilling out and onto an emerald green gated doorway to the group's left.

They remained silent for a moment as they observed the effect of their actions, silently waiting for security to rise and for a swarm of shadows to appear.

When none came, Valiant glanced at the now lit doorway with a hesitant, but all the more hopeful smile.

* * *

"Come on… There has to be something…" Futaba muttered to herself, her fingers flying over the keyboard as she analyzed her screen's content. She continued this sad pattern of typing new words into a search engine, muttering to herself in frustration, and switching tabs in order to double check the Phansite to make sure the glaring anomaly was still there. After five minutes of no progress, she slammed her head against the desk in frustration.

 _It says this post was made months ago, and yet it's right there at the top of screen for some reason… It's as if someone wanted me to see it._ It was an interesting theory. Though before she could jump to conclusions, Futaba had to make sure that something more believable wasn't going on here.

 _Maybe Sayori is still seeming to have problems, and this was pinned at the top to get the Phantom Thieves attention_ …

But that was an even bigger contradiction, because Sayori was definitely a member of the Phantom Thieves. It wouldn't make sense for her to be so close to them if they hadn't done something so important for her.

Curiouser and curiouser… These things weren't even the beginning of what made Sayori an enigma inside of an enigma. There was proof enough of this coming from the multiple other things Futaba was perusing from her laptop. Sayori's school record went back as far as only a few months. This was incredibly odd, because Futaba, with her level of skill, should have been able to find records of even the smallest details of Sayori's preschool days.

 _That doesn't make me sound like a stalker at all,_ Futaba thought wryly to herself as she searched all of the social media sites she could think of. Yet even here, there was no evidence of Sayori Matsu.

It was as if she didn't even exist.

 _Sayori seems like the type of girl that would be all over social media, with some hipster blog about the newest book she read… So this doesn't make any sense…_ Futaba pushed her glasses up her nose, before sliding her hand over her forehead and through her bangs in exasperation. She was practically asleep sitting up at this point.

Normally, Futaba would have given up hours ago, simply called it quits and accepted fate that the only thing she would find on the mysterious pink-haired maiden was her appearance on the cover of a crappy gossip magazine, which listed the "hot" details of the mystery girl that was stealing the renowned Second Coming of the Detective Prince from his devoted fangirls.

But now Futaba was incredibly intrigued… much too intrigued to give up. If anything, she was growing an even more furious determination to prove that her skills were superior to whatever enigma that made Sayori's presence so bizarre.

 _In cases like these, it might be better to go right to the source,_ Futaba thought. She felt incredibly nervous at the thought of what this meant, but it wasn't like she had much of a choice.

Futaba began to close all of the useless tabs that had offered her nothing but more questions. Once that was done, she opened up the chat app on her computer and began making the necessary preparations. She would probably have to wait until late in the day, and keep an ear out for when Akira Kurusu returned to Leblanc.

So much to do… Hopefully she wouldn't be interrupted by the unreal sounds and sights that clung onto her like leeches.

* * *

The Phantom Thieves were quick to launch a closer examination of the door. The group jumped down from the ledge and made quick work of the shadow that blocked their path. To their immense pleasure, the large green doors slid open, tremors and dust spilling forth with the strain.

"So shining light upon the door is what caused it to unlock…" Fox observed with a pensive expression.

Panther became giddy after hearing that. "Wait, doesn't that mean we can open the door at the great stairs the same way!?"

"We'll probably have to do a bunch," Valiant guessed with a slight shrug. "Or maybe since that door is near the front of the Palace, we need to wait for the sun in this place to be at the right position."

"Is that your roundabout way of saying this won't be easy, or are you just saying whatever pops in your head that you think sounds cool?" Queen asked as she tapped her foot.

"Mostly the first one… I'm trying to get my mind off of the fact that I'm still incredibly nervous about rooting around in someone's tomb…"

"There aren't any corpses," Mona chimed in with a frown on his face.

"You don't know for certain that there won't be!" Valiant raised her voice in anguish, before slamming a hand over her mouth, mumbling an apology.

"Ah, don't be too sorry," Skull said with a nonchalant wave of his hand. "I yell all the time and it ain't a big deal."

"Uh… Actually it kind of is…"

"That's besides the point!" Skull replied a little too quickly. "Let's just see how far we can get, and forget the past few minutes of the conversation didn't happen."

The group was quick to agree, wanting to make as much ground as possible, and Joker began to once again lead the way.

* * *

"Joker…"

"What is it, Valiant?" The black haired thief asked as they waited to ambush the nearby guard dog.

"You didn't forget to write down what that stone tablet said, right?"

The leader smiled. "Even if I did forget to write it down, I have it all memorized." He pointed at his head in a mock gesture, causing the pink haired girl across from him to chuckle.

"How did you manage to memorize that?" Fox asked in amazement. "It was a rather long passage…"

"Oh, it's easy for me to remember stuff when it's associated with something funny," Joker replied with a shrug. "Being asked to write something down in my 'handy dandy notebook' is not something I hear everyday, honestly."

With that said, Joker burst from his hiding spot and pounced on the dog. Easily ripping off the stone plate which covered its face.

This fight lasted only slightly longer than the last one. Valiant, Skull, and Panther waited on the sidelines for this one, their skills not needed for this particular fight.

"Do you guys think it would be a good idea if I put this shield to more use?" Valiant asked as she swung it around lightly on her arm.

"What, are you gonna bash someone on the head with it?" Skull asked jokingly.

"Probably not, the sword Joker got for me is plenty. Maybe when I'm holding it on my arm, I could try to shove the shadow away with the edge?" Valiant asked blankly as she observed Fox slicing a shadow in half.

"You're suddenly a lot more thoughtful than you have been lately," Panther commented with a happy smile. "You've seemed a lot more stressed out these past couple of weeks, so I'm surprised going into a Palace right now isn't making it worse."

As Queen rammed into the remainder of the shadow, utterly obliterating it and putting an end to the fight, Valiant smiled back. "I'm just happy to be getting this over with. Then we can have the rest of the summer to enjoy in peace…"

In truth, there was a lot more to Sayori's chipper attitude, but even if she was willing to elaborate on it, they had to keep moving.

After searching the next level of floors for little bit, the thieves managed to find an answer to the riddle of the stone tablet. The green orb that shone brightly in Anubis's hand would definitely be useful, and so they quickly made haste in taking it.

They fought through the a few of the shadows that manifested from the sarcophaguses, and manages to sneak by others. The Phantom Thieves were on fire as they tore through the enemies. After this bitter work was done, they managed to find yet another shining orb.

After a while, they arrived at a platform facing the great stairs from before. On the platform rested a mechanism, not unlike the one used to open the large green door. A quick search of the platform lead them to two pedestals, each with an orb-sized cavity at the top. It was easy to guess what they had to do next.

They all watched with satisfaction as the light from the golden mechanism shone on the great entrance. With that done, the Phantom Thieves continued on their merry, yet extremely serious and cautious, way. They would check on the door, and then find a safe place and discuss what to do next.

* * *

"I need to find more opportunities to talk with Sayori if I want to get a proper meeting with the rest of the Phantom Thieves," Akechi muttered to himself. "She's been absent too often these past few days, doing who knows what in the Metaverse with them."

The apartment was developing a rather lonely feeling these past few days, which was not how either of them had imagined the summer to be. If this had been in the past, it would have been normal for Goro, but now he found himself in an awkward state of desperately wishing for Sayori's company.

 _Why shouldn't you be on edge? Last time Sayori was confirmed to have gone to a Palace, she nearly got herself in trouble with the Mafia. Not to mention what happened the first time…_

The detective shook his head furiously, wanting to banish the thought from his head of what might be happening right now. The Palace they were going to belonged to a teenage girl, not someone dangerous like Kaneshiro. Sayori would be fine. He should stay out of the affairs of the Phantom Thieves anyway, at least in the Metaverse. The disasters that could happen if he got caught too early were innumerable. The constant tug-of-war between his priorities had already caused him too much grief.

 _But I'm sick of being left alone… I thought that after what happened that night, I wouldn't ever have to go through that experience again…_

Of course… Even though he had refused to dwell on it for the past few days, he would never be able to let go so easily. Sayori had been concerned for a friend, and with an incredibly good reason.

Leaving Goro Akechi home alone to deal with the raging storm outside.

 _Cut it out! You don't get to feel this way when you brought all of this suffering on everyone!_

He had told himself that over and over again, but despite all of his efforts at self deprecation, he was selfishly holding onto these things. The mantra he had learned over the years was losing its effect.

Despite how many people had said those things to him, and despite how many times he repeated these to himself, it was impossible to get rid of the words that had stubbornly clung onto him.

Goro Akechi had thought them gone all these years, but they were making themselves stubbornly present in his mind once more. It was maddening, how much he wished he could have been able to remember these things sooner.

 _She would say the most confusing things. On that last day, she seemed almost resigned, and I had never seen her so blunt. She was determined to be happy for me that day, yet that same determination was filled with desperation…_

If Akechi was good at acting like a normal, pleasant person, than his mother had been a legend. Normally, she would have dropped the act as soon as she stepped through the door of their old one room apartment, but for that last day, she had kept it firmly in place. It had been such a relief to see her without that constant look of despair and self pity, that he had never stopped to consider what it meant until it was too late.

" _There's going to be a storm tonight. You can play in the puddles tomorrow, after it's done."_

He never really knew what to think of his last day with his mother. Had she known even then what she was going to do that night? Had she dropped any hints he was supposed to have picked up on? That last day, she had committed herself to the same routine, but she did so with a natural looking smile on her face, quietly humming a tune to herself that he recognized as something she often played on her instrument.

Until it was time for bed. It was already storming outside, and Goro had found it incredibly hard to sleep. His mother stayed by his bedside for a long time, looking at him with something his tired mind could never process. Eventually, when he had almost drifted off, his mother assumed he had finally fallen asleep.

" _I'm happy… to have been able to be with you for so long. But… I guess I've had enough. I've lost…"_

Whatever she said after that was never heard. The thunder was too loud. She left and never came back home.

Goro Akechi thought back on all of these things, and once again wondered if he had misinterpreted it. Still, there was no point in him dwelling on it. It no longer mattered. Even if it was better to think of it a different way… It was too late to do anything about it.

But now things were also incredibly different. Sayori was here. At least for now, it was his responsibility to make sure she was alright. Until she went home, he had a commitment. Sayori wasn't allowed to end up like his mother.

He had another commitment, one that he wasn't willing to give up on. By now it would probably be too dangerous for him to abandon it anyway. He also had to avenge his mother, and make up for all of the years he had suffered after that night.

He wanted to lift Sayori up, but he had to drag Shido down. Those two priorities took center stage in his mind, a conflict that had haunted him for months.

 _I wonder… Which one will win in the end?_

* * *

"Alright. I think it's safe to say we've made enough progress for today," Joker announced as the group rested in their recently found safe room. "We'll come back later, maybe tomorrow, to continue."

There was a collective sigh of relief as the group prepared to leave. The next time they came here would be to work their way through the corridor. There was a definite excitement in the air at they all congratulated each other on their work for the day.

* * *

Once they made it to the real world, Sayori waved goodbye to everyone and headed for the subway. Despite her excitement, she was way too exhausted to walk like she normally did. Not to mention, it gave her time to come up with excuses.

Goro seemed to buy her vague story about helping a friend, but there were limits to what he would believe before he would start asking troubling questions. Not to mention, he needed to meet her friends and be convinced of their innocence if this cycle was going to stop.

His comment from the group's earlier meeting made Sayori nervous. Maybe he was just kidding around, when he said that her friend group matched his profile of the Phantom Thieves, but there was still another glaring issue.

 _Morgana did say you needed to hear him talk in the Metaverse in order to hear him in this place, right? If that is the case, Goro shouldn't have been able to hear what Morgana said… And it didn't seem like he did either…_ Of course, that didn't stop Sayori from doubting. Morgana knew a lot, but there was always a chance he was wrong.

Sayori continued to ponder these things on the way home, at the same time feeling incredibly lucky that she managed to find a seat.

* * *

"Did you have fun with your friends?" Goro asked as soon as Sayori entered the apartment.

A bit put off by his unusually chipper nature, Sayori simply nodded and smiled. She shook herself out of her surprise and went to sit beside her roommate. As soon as she took a seat on the couch, she was greeted by the smell of fast food and couldn't help but quietly groan.

"I almost miss the pancakes…"

"Well, my cooking skills are rather limited. I only really know how to make breakfast foods," the detective replied sheepishly.

"Is that why I came home yesterday to see you eating cereal for dinner?" Sayori asked with a knowing smile.

"Partly yes, but also because I still have yet to get my next paycheck," he countered. "And also, you made me spend money on those hats, which I haven't seen since you visited your friends yesterday." _Who am I kidding? They could have been eaten by a shadow or something ridiculous like that._

"Excuses, excuses. You know what… I'll make dinner tomorrow, lazy bones," Sayori said enthusiastically, much to Goro's chagrin.

"You don't need to trouble yourself with that, Sayori," he tilted his head and smiled. "We could go out instead.

"But you just said you don't have enough money to buy groceries," Sayori replied with a confidant smile. "Besides, by watching you cook, I learn a lot…"

"About making breakfast." The detective countered. He rubbed his chin, deep in thought. "If you learn so much, then I'll cook, and you can watch. I'll make pancakes if you miss them."

Sayori begrudgingly admitted defeat, before a light smile slipped onto her face. "Well, for now I guess it can't be helped. Give me some of that." She snatched the fast food bag off of the coffee table and grabbed small sandwich. "You've been getting Big Bang Burger a lot, honestly."

"Apparently, I'm being sponsored by it or something." The detective shrugged and rolled his eyes. "Some big marketing scheme, I guess."

Sayori smirked. "Maybe they're hoping the mystery girl from a crappy magazine will make an appearance with you."

"Oh right. I forgot that that was published today. Some tabloid tried to profit off of shortly after the fireworks festival, but I suppose they didn't get very far, since they didn't get anything other than a cellphone picture," The detective laughed. "Sae said a couple of days ago, that the more you look at that picture, the more it looks like you're just trying to save me from getting mugged."

"I think so too. Now that it's in a magazine, you think I'll get to go on TV with you?" Sayori asked with an innocent smile.

Goro began to choke on air, a reaction Sayori wasn't expecting from him.

He lightly pounded his chest with his fist, regaining his composure. "I think that's best avoided, Sayori. Anybody could search for information on you and find you on the Phantom Thieves website. What kind of gossip would that stir up then?" The moment he said that his eyes widened. "Though maybe more information on you could help me solve the case." He put a hand on his chin, thinking it over carefully. Sayori grew nervous.

"I was just joking, Goro. Even if it would help the case, I don't really like the idea of being in the public eye too much," Sayori attempted to dismiss the idea, already knowing that even if it weren't for the fact that she had to be discreet, the search for information would ultimately be fruitless.

"Sayori, I know you don't like it, but it's something to consider," the detective replied. "I definitely haven't been handling this case as well as I should have, but it's something I only trust myself to do."

Goro quickly became frustrated after that, and Sayori looked for a change in topic.

"I can understand why you wouldn't trust adults to handle this. After hearing everything you've been willing to say about your upbringing, I get the feeling you're doing what you think is right."

This was apparently the wrong thing to say, as Goro let out a bitter laugh. "I honestly don't know what is right. Or at the very least, if I do know, I've always ignored it. I think it's safe to say I've always only trusted myself. But even I never know if I'm being honest… even with myself."

"Oh, come on!" Sayori scolded, pinching his cheek. "What happened to that brave and proactive Detective Prince I saw this morning?" She hugged him tightly, opting to do that instead of pissing him off even more by revealing that she knew he was ticklish.

 _He should know_ _by now that he can't hide stuff from me._

"He started moping because he's had the past few days off, but his housemate has been too busy for him," the detective tried to pout, but felt a bit ridiculous and smiled instead.

"I'm sorry, Goro. I'll try to make time to spend with you tomorrow," Sayori began to compromise. If they wanted to help Futaba, then she had to make sure Goro didn't get more suspicious.

"Or if it's not too much trouble, I could spend time with you and your friends," the detective suggested with an innocent smile.

"Uh- I… I'm still working out a day we can all meet," Sayori stuttered out her excuse. She took a deep breath, remembering the story she had come up with on the way here.

"I can understand that… Though I am technically your guardian. I don't exactly think it sounds very good on my part to let you spend almost your entire day with people I barely know anything about," Goro pointed out.

"That's true, but you're not just my guardian… You're my roommate, and also my boyfriend," Sayori said, attempting to derail the conversation. "And as a fellow teenager, I think it's also important for you to know that it makes people uncomfortable when you accuse them of being criminals in public."

"Oh…" the detective squeezed his eyes shut, annoyed at his own stupidity. "I suppose that would make anyone nervous. Perhaps I should find a way to apologize?"

"You can do that by waiting until they're ready to meet you," Sayori replied. "We'll think of something fun to do. I promise."

The two smiled at each other. They spent the rest of the evening relaxing together, and deciding what they wanted to buy on their next grocery run.

They each had a busy day in front of them, but for now, they were content to enjoy each other's company.

* * *

" _Hey, I need to ask you something."_

Sayori rubbed her eyes and grabbed her vibrating phone. Upon seeing the familiar symbol of Alibaba, she immediately opened her chat app and looked at the messages being sent to her.

" _Are you aware that the post about you on the Phansite, the one made months ago, is pinned to the top?"_

"Huh," Sayori mumbled, shifting her other hand out from under the coverings. She quickly went to the website, only to feel rather confused. She quickly texted a reply.

" _I'm not sure what you mean. I checked, and the comment about me wasn't at the top."_

" _What? But I've reloaded my page hundreds of times, and it's still there!"_ Alibaba replied. She seemed to be rather distressed, which worried Sayori.

" _Are you alright?"_

" _It doesn't matter, anyway. You already know I'm losing it, so this shouldn't be a surprise. Thanks for telling me… I guess. I have stuff to do. Make sure you and your teammates fulfill our deal."_

Sayori felt herself become agitated. _Is she really going to text me at night, and then ditch again!?_ Feeling like she had had quite enough, Sayori sent out a few texts of her own. Afterall, nothing ventured meant nothing gained.

" _If you can still read this, I would like to know why you wanted to text me about this, and why you didn't do it on our team's group chat. You've done it before, anyway."_

" _We want to help you, and getting to know you better could help."_

" _I want to help you, Futaba. Nobody deserves to go through all that you've gone through. If you ever feel like it, please talk to me."_

" _If it makes you feel better, I can talk about myself first. You seem to be curious."_

Sayori was about to send more, but she didn't want to go overboard. Besides, the best way to help Futaba now was to be well rested for the next time they went to the Palace.

With nothing else to do, Sayori nestled under the light blanket. From where she lay, she could make out Goro's sleeping form from his open bedroom door.

Even as she felt herself drifting off, a deep sympathy swelled in the girl's heart.

 _Nobody deserves to go through any of this. Why do all of my friends have to shoulder so much pain?_

 _It's not fair… It's not right…_

* * *

" _So you've come. Follow me."_ Futaba's Shadow took off down a hallway just as the thieves came up the stairs.

Valiant turned to follow her, only for Mona to block her path. The black cat creature seemed rather insistent as he hopped up and down, making a case for why not to follow her. "The last few times we interacted with her have only given us setback after setback. Right now, Futaba is too defensive, and will only continue to push us away the further we go."

"Mona is right," Joker nodded in agreement. "For now let's focus on opening up more doors."

Everyone seemed to think that was the better strategy in the long run, and even Valiant had to begrudgingly admit that it was the better option at the moment.

With that, everyone continued running up the stairs, intent on fulfilling their goal. They could only hope that whatever they found up there would be helpful in their infiltration.

And though they didn't bother voicing it out loud at the moment, they had all come to the silent agreement.

They wanted to learn more about Futaba Sakura.

* * *

"Sae-san, I require your assistance."

Sae looked up from her laptop, feeling a migraine forming as she made eye contact with the Goro Akechi. She sighed and quietly closed the lid, wondering what he could possibly want at a time like this.

"What is it, Akechi-kun? I'm in the middle of looking at the evidence I managed to gather…"

"That's rather convenient, because I was hoping I could take a second look at some of the information you have," Goro quickly replied, placing the file he had borrowed the other day back on her desk.

Sae raised her eyebrow at him. "Why should I?"

"I have a hunch."

The silver-haired woman grumbled and moaned. "Anything you look at is not allowed to leave this room. I want to hear whatever your little hunch is."

"That's just fine," Goro replied, sliding over to take a look at her laptop.

"If this turns out to be a waste of my time…" Sae grumbled to herself. She took a few deep breaths before turning to look at the detective. "What do you need to look at anyway?"

To Sae's confusion, the detective looked conflicted with what he was about to ask. He rubbed the back of his neck, and made sure his voice was steady. She wondered why now all of a sudden he seemed so nervous about it, when it was completely appropriate to ask these things in such a complicated case.

After a few long seconds, Sae grew impatient, and was about to rescind her offer, when finally, Goro Akechi spoke.

"I would like any information you have on Futaba Sakura, please."

 **I'm updating this late because I've had a slightly busy past couple of days. Now that summer has finally started, I hope to go back to uploading weekly for the time being. Anyway, what did you guys think? This was a fun chapter to write at the start of the summer. Also, happy late birthday to Goro Akechi! That's about all I have to say. Please read, review, and I'll see you guys next time.**


	44. Chapter 43

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

The Phantom Thieves ran through the hallways at a furious pace, their motivation to see this infiltration through as furious as ever. In some areas the stone floor caved, making it all the more difficult to navigate the various hallways. But they persisted, backtracking, dodging, jumping, and running in the pyramid Palace.

This already tiresome activity was nothing compared to how they fought. The Phantom Thieves matched the merciless attitude of all their foes, always coming out victorious, gaining new prizes all the while.

After awhile of this constant pace, the Phantom Thieves came to a stop at a familiar statue, except the writing on the panel beside it was vastly different…

"'Any who attempts to steal this gem shall be cursed,'" Panther read aloud. "Uhhh…" The red clad thief made a sound of hesitation.

"I'm sure 'cursed,' is just a fun word for 'challenged,'" Valiant said with only slightly forced enthusiasm.

"Dude, we can't let this 'curse' shit get to us, right? C'mon, let's just take it," Skull insisted to Joker.

"Let's look around a bit more, first," Joker reasoned. "If this sets off a trap or something, we need to be extra sure there isn't anything in this area that we missed."

"Yeah, we really shouldn't right now. I mean, uhhh… not like I believe in curses or anything," Panther said.

The group continued down another hallway, and made quick work of a Shadow guarding a button. Upon pressing said button, a loud rumbling sound shook the area. The sound came from the area Futaba's Shadow had gone in, unsettling the group immensely. They silently, unanimously all agreed to pick up the pace and hurried back the way they had come.

Joker hastily snatched the gem from the statue. A horrid voice came from the dog-resembling stone monstrosity, announcing in a menacing tone, "A curse shall befall you…"

"Uhhh… I'm sure it's fine," Valiant waved off with a shrug. With that unnecessary comment, which only made the Phantom Thieves more paranoid, the pink haired thief rushed to catch up as they continued to another room.

Before long they figured out what the "curse" was. In a different hallway, an Indiana Jones style hallway trap awaited them. Multiple arrows shot from the right wall. They would have impaled Joker if not for his quick reflexes, which helped him to jump back. All it took was a brief search of the nearby hallways to find the pedestal that required the cursed gem.

After setting the glowing green stone in its proper holding place, the group returned to the arrow obstacle, which was now shut down, and easily walked over it. On the other side awaited yet another button, which the Phantom Thieves were happy to press. This caused a ballista to collapse yet another wall, letting the light from one of the contraptions in their view shine forth. The light hit yet another door, opening a way further for them to continue.

Satisfied with themselves, the Phantom Thieves continued forward with smirks on their faces. They were filled with adrenaline, ready for whatever the Palace would continue to throw at them.

As they climbed stairs, jumped onto higher floors, and ran down hallways, Valiant felt a shiver pass through her. Being in a Palace in the middle of a desert, she found this odd. However, she decided not to be distracted, knowing that if she considered it any further, she would only be jinxing herself and her teammates.

But still, she couldn't help but wonder…

* * *

In his rush to get back to his apartment, Goro Akechi slammed the door shut. Guilt hammered a constant beat inside his chest as he investigated the surrounding rooms. For a few minutes afterward, he paced around the large couch, waiting for fate to strike its cruel blow and reveal to him that Sayori was hiding in a closet somewhere, witnessing him acting far too suspicious for a supposedly innocent high school detective.

After his racing heart calmed down, Goro finally felt his legs collapse as he fell onto the couch. _Good… She's not back yet. I have plenty of time…_

 _Yeah, plenty of time to screw yourself over, maybe…_

The detective gritted his teeth, doing his best to ignore the ever persistent voices in his head as he reviewed all of the facts that he had learned from Sae.

 _Futaba Sakura lives at Sojiro Sakura's house. And from what I've learned so far about everything I never bothered to learn before…_

The detective shook his head of the self degrading thought. This wasn't about him… This was hardly even about Futaba Sakura. This was about Sayori, and her tendency to get into trouble because of her dangerously selfless and kind heart.

He had wrestled with his thoughts for hours on end. Even now, though he had the information he needed, Goro was still debating whether or not he should even be considering this dangerous decision.

 _You know Sayori can take care of herself…_

He did know that, thank you very much. The detective had been going back and forth, similar arguments being exchanged, but in the end it continued to bug him. He did trust Sayori, but the thought of Mob Bosses taking pictures of her lead him down one dark path of thought after another, and soon his paranoia was too big to overcome.

"I'll just go in quickly to check on her. That way, just in case… I'll be there if something happens," Goro said aloud, knowing all the while that he must have finally lost it.

He continued muttering to himself, pondering over what remained of the keywords he needed. It was frighteningly easy to put himself in the shoes of the person whose mother he had killed. After all, the more he thought about it, the girl had become a shut in after the death of someone as close as her mother, and the detective could easily form the puzzle pieces as to why. Afterall, the cover-up had made it so that Futaba blamed herself…

The detective crushed his bottom lip beneath his teeth, rolling that sickening thought around his head, for the first time pausing to seriously consider it.

 _Just stay out of it… You've done enough already, haven't you?_ How many times had people said those words to him in the past? It was truly pathetic that even his own inner thoughts were berating him just as so many others had.

 _Too late…_ he thought to himself, barely aware of the smugness welling up inside as he finally entered the final keyword.

It was a good thing he thought to bring his bicycle with him, and plenty of water…

Goro Akechi knew this as he looked at the hot desert sun, not looking forward to the long journey ahead as he followed tire tracks, which had been nearly blown away by the desert winds.

At least he had his thoughts to accompany him, which continued to bend and twist in his head, reminding him of how despicable he was.

But Goro Akechi already knew he was horrible. He had accepted it as part of him. The only reason he didn't obey these thoughts that ranged from simply going back to the real world, all the way to waiting in the suffocating desert for death to come, was that he had found another side of himself, which wasn't the black and white(as well as red and blue) sides that he was aware of.

Goro Akechi found that he wanted to explore these things…

* * *

 _Did Goro wear his sweater vest today? I hope not, with how hot it's been lately,_ Valiant thought idly to herself as she trailed behind the rest of the team. There was a bright golden light shining down a hallway to their right. Currently, Joker was busy unlocking a nearby treasure chest, but they would be heading down that hallway soon enough.

Valiant idly looked around while he did so, politely accepting one of the small tokens that Joker got from the chest. After a few seconds of making sure everyone was situated and ready to continue, they were travelling into the golden light of the nearby hallway.

Emerging on the other side, they found another of the golden machines, with the glowing orb resting on top, light shining onto it, being redirected away from a dim screen. A small golden panel of controls was at the machines base, and the Phantom Thieves quickly walked up to look at it.

Joker merely had to tap the panel once, and the screen to light up, revealing a puzzle comprised of a mixed up picture. From what Valiant could see, Shadow Futaba, and what appeared to be owls dressed up in suits, were the main stars.

"Odd," Fox observed. "The design seems to be scrambled somehow."

"Maybe it's kinda like a puzzle?" Panther guessed, walking up to stand beside Joker and take a closer look at the controls. "Joker, can you change the picture?"

Joker could indeed do that, and spent the next few minutes switching the panels around, until eventually a coherent image was formed. It depicted the owl-men reading a paper aloud to a younger looking Shadow Futaba, who sat crying in her throne with a bird behind her.

The Phantom Thieves looked at this together, guessing what it might mean. However, before this could go on for too long, voices coming from the picture answered it for them.

"' _I should never have had Futaba…'"_

"' _She was always such a bother…'"_

The voice was that of an adult male, reading those horrid sentences as if they were fact.

The voices were like spiky fuzz in the Phantom Thieves' ears.

" _It seems you caused your mother a great deal of trouble, Futaba-chan,"_ The picture continued to speak. " _She must have had some kind of maternity neurosis…"_

With those final words, the giant orb's light was redirected onto the picture, causing it to fade away and for the light to shine on a far off door.

Instead of their usual happiness at having progressed, the Phantom Thieves stared silently at the distant door, each lost in their own thoughts.

 _That sounded… too wrong to be true,_ Sayori thought to herself, thoughts from before being brought to the forefront of her mind. _Even if it was true… that note… didn't sound real…"_ The pink haired girl brought a hand to her temple, trying to both cure the furious headache that was forming, and hide the tears welling in her eyes.

Most would look at Sayori in that moment and think she was relating herself to Futaba… They would think that she was putting herself in the poor girl's shoes and sympathize with her.

But this was a stark contrast, as thoughts of four people crashed violently through her thoughts like an out of control train. Those smiling faces that all needed her…

And she had left.

Sayori's blurry vision finally came into focus as the Phantom Thieves finally found words to say.

"What was that?" Ann questioned in shock, her blue eyes wide.

"Based on its contents, it sounded almost like a suicide note…" Makoto murmured, trying and failing to sound like her normal, completely objective self.

"Could that be what Futaba remembers of her mother's suicide?" Yusuke asked, looking down at his feet with a slightly defeated look.

"But that's a fuckin' sick thing to do to a kid if that's really how it all went down." Ryuji said, a sizeable lump in his throat. Nobody had the heart to call out the unusual use of the F-word. It was warranted, afterall…

Sayori was finding it hard to breathe, the barest wisps of a memory welling up inside of her. She struggled desperately. Whether she struggled to force the memory down or bring it up was unknown. All she knew was that she was struggling… and that with every passing second of it, guilt was filling her insides like tar.

Morgana nudged her gently, reminding her that they had to keep moving.

She nodded numbly, and the Phantom Thieves were off, finding a nearby safe room shortly after. Sayori was incredibly thankful, as it offered her a chance to fully gather her thoughts.

 _Why… do I feel this way?_ Sayori stared down at the stone surface of the table in the safe room, feeling slightly sick to her stomach. Her mind went back to the images she had seen the other day, an uncomfortable sense of wrongness wriggling inside of her as she reviewed Wakaba Isshiki's note in her head over and over.

Thought after thought swarmed in her head, the once mostly peaceful controlled chaos of her mind now nothing but anarchy. That one unremembered memory teased this mess, knowing Sayori was completely incapable of bringing that memory to the surface.

Though the more she thought about it… the few puzzle pieces that formed in her head gave her a suspicion.

 _Why is it that I'm so insistent that the suicide note doesn't sound right?_

The other Phantom Thieves noticed the girl's troubled expression, but out of respect, they let her keep these thoughts to herself for now… After what most of them had seen in her mind, it was best to let Sayori sort this particular thought out for herself.

It wasn't until they were just leaving that one more piece connected itself in Sayori puzzle. One more unexplainable memory was brought to the surface… And despite how unreal it seemed…

It felt right.

Valiant closed the door to the safe room behind her, quietly repeating the words of the long forgotten poem to herself over and over again. Despite the obvious implications of the sorrowful verses, a bonfire was being built…

Valiant gripped her mask tightly, running ahead to stand beside Queen and Fox near the front of the group.

* * *

 _I assume the ruler of this Palace is too busy with the Phantom Thieves right now…_

It had taken a painful amount of time for Goro to cross the boiling desert. Thankfully, it seemed that since the sun was in Metaverse, it didn't have the effect of burning him too badly… Though he was still panting like a mangy dog by the time he managed to climb the pyramid steps and slam open the door.

He found the main hall that he had entered through completely empty, and seemingly air conditioned. Goro sighed in relief as he leaned against the wall, finally feeling the cogs and wheels in his head turning once more.

 _I think I hid my bike well enough, though at this point I can't be bothered to go back out there and check…_ The detective pondered quietly to himself, stepping slightly further into the Palace. It was only when his feet teetered on the edge of a large pit, which had been in plain view from the moment that he looked up, that his clothes finally changed.

He was relieved to find that he was in his white, princely costume. He probably would have turned around immediately and gone back to the real world, if he had had to wear the black monstrosity that was his other costume… Especially since he had already suffered enough in that stupid sweater vest.

With the small relief of his brighter costume now realized, Goro quickly began his own exploration of the Palace. The Phantom Thieves could be anywhere, so to avoid detection, he stayed close to the walls, and avoided any Shadow he came across. He couldn't cause a ruckus, especially not when his main goal was to go in and out without disrupting anything.

That was one disadvantage of his princely outfit… It was too bright and noticeable… Despite the fact that right now he wanted to hide himself more than anything.

He was just waiting for the ruler of this Palace, Futaba Sakura, to pop out of nowhere and condemn him for all that he had done, or to unleash hellfire on him in whatever way her poor, suffering head could imagine. He would deserve all of it, for causing this Palace to manifest in the first place.

 _No… Despite everything I've done, it wasn't me that made Futaba Sakura think this way…_

As if that were any consolation… He was still the one who had caused the entire incident that had lead to this Palace.

He couldn't let himself think right now, only act. He would act… Play a part… Pretend… And reach his goal.

With his determination once again set in place, Akechi quickly resumed scaling the large staircase. Doors that must have once blocked access to the higher sections were now wide open. It was obviously recent, judging by the dust that was still settling on the ground.

 _The Phantom Thieves have been busy…_

Judging by the hallways that were near each of these doorways, it would hopefully be much easier to find the group and check on them. He could just stay hidden by one of the closed doors and wait for it to open, and then shortly after, the thieves should arrive.

 _But that defeats the entire purpose, because there isn't that much danger on the staircase itself. I wanted to be here in case Sayori needed help after all…_

With that knowledge in mind, Goro nodded to himself, having figured out his course of action. He took a considerate look around the hallways, before turning down one, doing his best to hide himself.

Too bad it was the opposite way he needed to go.

* * *

"Valiant! Calm down!"

During the two battles that the Phantom Thieves engaged in after looking at the hieroglyph, this was the only piece of advice anyone could offer the girl. However, this only had the opposite of the intended effect, making the pink haired girl's attitude in battle only become worse.

Normally, the Phantom Thieves would encourage each other to hold on to the feelings they experienced during a fight. It was their own special way of encouraging one another to not lose sight of their goal, or to hold onto that feeling that they were fighting for what they believed in.

But Valiant's attitude, even in the worst of situations, had never gotten so vicious. Usually, she would be completely focused on keeping her friends safe and unharmed during battle, rarely attacking the enemies directly.

Yet, as they faced off against the Shadows surrounding them, Valiant was throwing caution to the wind, lashing out at whatever beast that got close to her. And it wasn't righteous fury, or the rage they were used to seeing on eachothers' faces when they fought.

Fox tore through the last remaining Shadow in one swift strike, ending their battle. A second later, he joined the rest of the crowding Phantom Thieves, who were looking at Valiant with tangible concern. Even though she had been defeating Shadow after Shadow only moments before, the pink haired thief now seemed like her usual gentle self.

But instead of hyper and unnaturally sweet, she seemed unnaturally calm. There was a blank smile on her face, and if the Phantom Thieves hadn't noticed the tears trailing down her face, they wouldn't have pried.

"Maybe it's best that we find a safe room and call it quits for the day," Queen suggested, only for Valiant to vehemently object.

"No! I want to keep going! I… I made a promise to you guys, right?" Valiant cried out, before taking a moment to steady her breath.

"Well, calm down then," Joker said sympathetically. "We'll keep going, but only if we can manage as well as we have been."

Valiant nodded in agreement, before taking a spot at the back of the group. She tried to breathe, but her racing heart made it difficult. There was just so much for her to think about…

 _In two out of three of the Palaces I've been too… This has happened. I feel so awful. Why do I feel so small and weak!?_

There had been a select few number of times she had felt this way since coming here, and she couldn't help but but feel an immense sorrow at the knowledge that it was happening again.

 _It's so unfair… Why couldn't we just change the heart of some jerk involved with Medjed… At least then I wouldn't feel so helpless._

It truly was unfair. In the time she had spent in Tokyo, she had come to learn that she could take most of the blows that others threw at her. Kamoshida had leered at her, and she had felt awful about it. But the moment he had shown up at school with a changed heart, those feelings had dissipated. She had been scared of Kaneshiro, knowing he had the power to ruin herself and her friends. But when she found out how pathetic he was on the inside, she couldn't even bring herself to really pity him.

Valiant could handle blows from people like that… But lately it seemed that all she could feel was hurt, and it wasn't caused by the rotten adults who tried to drag them down.

The red rope tied around her neck, and the knowledge that the ones she cared about were suffering so much, and there was so very little she could do to help them… all of it was like a punch to the gut.

Sayori was okay… her days were so much better than before. But it still hurt her more than anything to see those she cared about going through so much.

 _Akira, Ann, Ryuji, Morgana, Yusuke, Makoto… Futaba, and Goro. I want to help you guys, but it won't help me feel any better… I know that now. I'll still feel horrible, but most of you guys will want to make me feel better, won't you?_

The pink haired girl focused on these things as they continued turning corners. The end of this Palace would be something to look forward too. She could spend the rest of her summer vacation, however short it may now be, enjoying the company of her friends.

It was a comforting thought, that helped Valiant continue running for a few more minutes. She might have been able to continue for longer, but they met up with the Palace ruler before that could come to pass.

" _You're late. What took so long?"_ Shadow Futaba questioned the thieves, before abruptly turning a corner and leaving.

Skull was rather irritated by this. He released a short growl, muttering, "That's it! I've had it up to here with her!"

Everyone was in a tired sense of agreement. While none of them could be angry, they were all a bit impatient at this point, feeling as if they were being teased at this point.

All of them began to hurry after Futaba, only to stop as the ground trembled and shook. Yet another large boulder began hurtling towards the Phantom Thieves, who had to run away from it in a hurried panic.

* * *

After a solid half hour of wandering around endless halls with no sign of another person around, Goro finally gave up on the hallway he was in and began to retrace his steps. Aside from different Shadows, there was no other being to interact with, and the detective was quickly growing bored. He was considering looking for a safe room of his own, but there was a nagging feeling in the back of his head to hold off on that for now.

Once he was back on the massive staircase, Goro looked around for any sign of the Phantom Thieves. Strangely enough, although he found no sign of them being near him, the detective was only put more on edge. He took a closer look at dark corners of the Palace, never moving from his spot, yet doing his best to observe his surroundings.

 _I feel very uncomfortable…_ the detective thought, huffing in irritation. He had no evidence of it, but he couldn't help but feel an invisible pressure burning into his back.

It was entirely possible that he was just too paranoid about getting into a fight with a Shadow, but that seemed entirely illogical to him. After much debate, Goro finally turned all the way around-

Only to be faced with absolutely nothing.

 _Strange, I thought that the Palace ruler had finally caught up to me…_ Goro thought with a small sigh.

He began to slowly pace around, thinking that maybe it would be better to cause a ruckus, hide, and see if the Phantom Thieves came in good shape, before taking his leave.

He was broken out of his thoughts when the floor beneath his shoe suddenly felt different. It was still hard, but the area under his heel suddenly felt a bit slippery.

Goro glanced down, noticing for the first time that there was a small piece of paper stuck to his shoe. _I'm sure there wasn't anything there before… How?_

He picked it up, hastily reading the words neatly written on the piece of notebook paper.

* * *

 _Dearest Ace Detective,_

 _I see that you are getting impatient. I can understand that. For all of my attempts at avoiding interfering, time is beginning to run short. Do you feel it yet, Detective? If a path towards this "rehabilitation" that I keep hearing over and over through these whispered conversations is not met soon, the four of us can't stay here._

 _I've given her all the motivation I can, but we are still running out of time. You especially, are running out of time. Enjoy your time with her now, Detective. With the way things are turning out, soon you won't be able to enjoy it, even when she is right by your side._

 _Your job isn't to save her, just to pick up the pieces left behind after a tragedy of my own design. Keep them safe, until everything is where it should be._

* * *

The suspicions from before were starting to confirm themselves. Goro slipped the note into his pocket, intent on taking a closer look at it later. However, for now he knew he was right about one thing. There was something in Sayori's Palace that was still out there.

In his haste to move on from that area, the detective didn't notice the writing on the back of the note. The messy ink of different, yet all too familiar handwriting, faded from gray to the color of ash. Only the small percent sign that marked the title was now legible.

* * *

The Phantom Thieves managed to jump to the side, narrowly missing the large boulder as it rolled past them. They decided that the best course of action would be to avoid the large pathways that a boulder could fit down, and instead went through a vent.

Conveniently, they found themselves in a room that appeared to be the back of the boulder trap. The group quickly began to survey the place, easily finding a button and the seemingly blank slab beside it.

"There's nothing visible on the slab…" Queen pointed out. "What do you think we should do?"

The obvious solution was to press the button. However, nothing happened when they first tried it. So instead the Phantom Thieves went to another side of the room, kicking a wooden board into place so they could bridge a large gap. They soon found themselves in another room, with another slab, similarly blank.

Upon closer inspection, Joker was able to make purple text appear on the surface.

"You seem to have the magic touch, Joker," Valiant commented. "What's it say?"

"The devices controlling the murals seemed to react in a similar fashion," Queen said, ignoring Valiant's comment.

Panther was quick to point out the code contained in the slab's text. With nowhere else to go, the room being a dead end, the Phantom Thieves went back to the room they had originally found themselves in. Upon entering, the room shook, and the coffins sitting in the middle projected large glowing orbs above them.

Valiant resisted the urge to say something stupid, but it was nearly impossible with the obvious joke she could say. Thankfully, Joker said it for her as they headed down to get a closer look.

"They look like blueprints for the Death Star," he said offhandedly, before he set to work applying the code to the obvious puzzle in front of them. He directed his teammates to different coffins, telling them whether or not to press a button.

Finally, they had the puzzle figured out. With the last panel in the puzzle now pressed, the slab from before was now lit. Pressing the button caused a small door down the hall to be unlocked. The Thieves passed through it, immediately getting into a fight with a nearby Shadow.

* * *

There were tremors coming from somewhere in the Palace, and if he could sanction a guess, Goro would say that was close to where the Phantom Thieves were.

So he headed in the direction the tremors had come from, being mindful to stay hidden. He hadn't run into any danger, but he made sure not to let his mind wander too far. It was a hard thing to do, as he couldn't help but feel like he should be remembering something as he looked looked up and around at the stone walls of the Palace.

Goro was far too focused on his original goal of checking on the Phantom Thieves, and then getting out of this Palace he didn't have any right to be in, that he paid almost no heed to the insistent feeling inside that something about this place bothered him. He still had to get back to the apartment with enough time to investigate the clues he had already found, anyway.

Just as he thought he was finally getting close to the group, he was nearly knocked off of his feet. What felt like an earthquake was shaking the entire Palace to its foundation, and for a moment he wondered if the Pyramid was collapsing.

He knew from past experiences that Palaces collapsed when something happened to the ruler, and for a moment he panicked, thinking that this was happening. However, before he could even think of abandoning his self assigned mission, he noticed that it was peculiar that the structure of the pyramid was still intact.

 _So something else is going on? What could it be?_ With no other option but to find out, Goro began heading in the direction where the tremors were strongest, worried about what he might possibly find.

* * *

"Do something, Joker!"

Joker began to button mash the panel that he had just pushed, in a panic as it did nothing to stop the many boulders from rolling down the corridor. No doubt every Shadow in the Palace felt the tremendous shaking as every single giant stone ball that was in the trap tumbled out. With nothing else but panic running through his head, Joker gave one mighty kick to the machine.

Perhaps the button had been stuck, or maybe the machine had finally run out of ammo, but after that kick, the machine finally stopped. The thieves stood there, stunned, for a few moments, looking over the wall at the corridor now filled with large green glowing boulders.

"Did it… stop?" Mona finally asked.

"Nobody should press that button again," Valiant said breathlessly, worn out from her worry and panic. Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Is this what the slab could have meant by 'form a path?'" Queen asked curiously.

Joker began leading the way, going back towards the vent they had crawled into the room with. The small space now had a large rock wedged into, making it unusable.

"It'll be impossible to pass through this way. We'll have to find another path."

Joker noticed a ledge right above them, and quickly latched onto it, before pulling himself up and onto it. The other Phantom Thieves followed suit, finding the convenient path laid out for them. The long row of boulders served as platforms that they could easily travel across.

 _It's like we're following the yellow brick road to Emerald City_ , Valiant thought with a rather goofy grin. _Though in this case, we're following the green boulder road, which hopefully leads to the treasure…_

After a bit of this boulder jumping, the Phantom Thieves quickly jumped down, finally able to travel normally again. The small hallway they found themselves in lead to yet another glowing-orb machine, with yet another brightly lit golden hallway beside it. The group quickly went down this hall, finding a room with yet another screen and mechanism inside it, just like before.

As Joker began looking at the panel at the base of the machine, Valiant and the others looked at the slowly assembling mural, wondering and worrying about what this one might reveal. This one showed a rather gruesome sight. A woman was jumping into the path of an incoming black car, with a crying Shadow Futaba watching.

"Could this be the moment Futaba's mother committed suicide?" Panther asked, a look of sorrow in her eyes as she frowned in contemplation. She suddenly looked up as more voices seemed to come from the horrifying picture. Everyone listened carefully.

" _F-Futaba…"_ A young woman's voice moaned. " _Y-You… are…"_

The voice was cut off as the glowing beam on the machine reflected on it, causing the picture to fade away, the beam hitting yet another lock on the door.

Valiant bit her lip, her thoughts going back once more to the images she had seen before entering this Palace for the first time. How Futaba had looked in the one she had just seen…

 _I don't ever want to hurt anyone like that… But what if I already have?_

The Phantom Thieves were also discussing the picture, nobody noticing the look of frustration making itself apparent on the pink haired girl's face.

 _Why am I remembering these things now of all times? Why is everything falling apart?_

Once again, the Phantom Thieves were ready to move on. This time, an extra air of grief and sympathy was carried with them.

 _Why does Futaba have to go through this pain, too?_

* * *

After finding another safe room and regaining their energy for a short time, the Phantom Thieves continued on their way. As of now, there was a certain waning energy among them. They were almost too exhausted to continue at this point. It was becoming clear that before long, they would be calling it quits for the day.

For now, however, the Phantom Thieves continued, finding in their next set of obstacles a piece of artwork that immediately caught Fox's eye.

"What wonderful form," He said, awestruck by the two statues that sat guarding the entrance. "Seeing such divine sculptures in person is exceedingly rare."

"What movie or story are you thinking of now, Valiant?" Mona asked, smirking as the pink haired girl blushed in embarrassment.

"The Neverending Story," she replied sheepishly. "Though I'm not nervous for this group, at all. We are very confident in ourselves after all."

"Dude, how could you tell she was thinking about that stuff?" Skull asked the cat creature curiously.

"She always smiles to herself and squints. Even an idiot like you should be able to notice that," Mona replied cheekily, causing Skull to growl in frustration.

"Anyway, now isn't the time for us to be letting our guard down. I can sense a lot of Shadows up ahead," Mona continued, walking up to stand beside Joker.

The group began running in between the two statues, which did indeed not vaporize them, as they confidently took out a Shadow almost immediately. They quickly entered a new area after defeating it.

They ran through the halls and climbed onto many different levels of floors, defeating their enemies with relative ease. A couple of times, they switched places in battle, some of the thieves beginning to tire after the constant strain.

Still, they found themselves going far. If only for a bit longer, they would continue.

* * *

 _Alright… I'm going back._

The young detective was getting rather tired of this. Clearly, the Phantom Thieves had improved since he had last had the pleasure of seeing them. Even when they weren't avoiding him on purpose, never once did he actually catch a glimpse of them.

It was disheartening, but at least he knew Sayori was alright. Every now and then, he'd hear some distant rumble. This was a clear sign that the Phantom Thieves were up to their mischief. So for now, Goro would let them be.

He sighed, before heading for the front entrance. At the very least, his efforts had been far from fruitless. The note in his pocket was proof enough of that.

The detective was about to open the large set of front doors, and step out into the blazing heat, when he heard a small quiet hum of curiosity behind him. Goro whipped around, panicking as he was now in the middle of experiencing a moment he had dreaded during this entire excursion.

Shadow Futaba quietly inspected him, a confused frown on her face. Goro had to remind himself over and over again that he was not in his black masked costume, so he was at least safe from this Shadow knowing of him.

But by the judging eyes she levelled at him, he hardly thought that it mattered.

 _This is an almost enlightening experience, staring into the eyes of the distorted desires that you are responsible for creating… But it's also… rather frightening…_ The detective backed away until he felt his gloved hand firmly grasp a handle on one of the doors. Hopefully he would just be able to quietly slip out and-

" _I know you…"_

Was even Futaba Sakura troubled by his constant annoying interviews? No… He was wearing a mask, and the Shadow shouldn't be able to recognize him… So how?

" _I don't know how I know you, but I get the feeling that I crossed paths with someone similar to you long ago… You look female."_

Did this Shadow really come up to him just to tell him that he looked like a girl? Goro scoffed, before turning away from the Shadow and slipping out the door.

 _She seems like a frustrating Shadow to deal with. I feel sorry for Sayori…_ The detective pointedly ignored the tight feeling in his chest. Sayori would be just fine…

He had worried for her all that day, but even as he thought those words, he knew there was something strange that still didn't sit well with him.

 _I'm going to regret this decision later, but perhaps I should take one more look around, the next time the Phantom Thieves come to this Palace. By then, they'll probably be ready to make the whole thing collapse.._

Goro wiped the sweat off his forehead, knowing he was going to need a shower the second he was home. He found his bike, grabbed hold of the handles, and quickly went back to the real world.

* * *

Before long, the Phantom Thieves found yet another pedestal that required a gem. In another room, they found a coffin that opened to reveal a button. Upon pressing it, the coffin, as well as the wall behind it, slid away to reveal a secret room with the gem they needed. Joker grabbed it and they hurried to place it on the pedestal.

A glowing green pathway materialized near the floors below, bridging a deep abyss, and giving the team access to previously blocked off rooms. They tore through the Shadows blocking their way, and hurried to the next areas that awaited them.

Once again, the team came across Shadow Futaba waiting for them. She had a distracted look on her face, but everyone still remained on the side of caution.

"It'd suck if we had to go through hell again 'cause we walked up to her without thinkin' first," Skull said quietly. Turning to Joker, the blond continued. "So… what's your call? You wanna keep goin'?"

Joker nodded, and the group silently trailed after him, approaching Shadow Futaba as gently as carefully as possible.

" _You're late. I thought all of you had died,"_ the Shadow spoke.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Valiant muttered, her own statement going unheard as Skull spoke up.

"We almost did die thanks to you! I mean, do you really wanna help us? Make up your goddamn mind," The blond boy shouted angrily. Nobody could really blame him. They were all cranky and tired at this point.

" _...I'm not sure. There's not much left at this point though,"_ Shadow Futaba replied calmly. With that, she faded away without another word.

Everyone let out a collective groan, too tired to even complain anymore. It wasn't like they had the time to, anyway. A large coffin Shadow appeared in front of them, discouraging them with its mere large size alone.

"Brace yourselves!" Joker warned. "This will be a hard one!"

The team did as they were told, brandishing their weapons and getting into battle stances. Their hands were on their masks, ready to rip them away and unleash their personas.

" _WHO DARES INTRUDE UPON THE PEACE OF THIS HOLY GROUND?"_ The shadow boomed. " _THIS IS THE PHARAOH'S TOMB. NONE MAY DISTURB HER SLUMBER."_

The Shadow attacked, unleashing a maelstrom of vicious attacks on the thieves. Valiant was unlucky enough to be in this particular battle, doing her best to take the brunt of the strikes against her friends. She was doing pretty well, though already she could feel her energy draining.

 _I'm going to get knocked flat soon if we don't end this,_ she thought grimly. _Or worse. I'll get turned into a mouse again!_ She violently shuddered at the thought, before backing away into a relaxed position as Skull struck the coffin, and the two serpentine women beside it. The attack didn't help much, but it was enough to show he was trying to apologize for apparently causing the attack.

Joker went next, easily taking out the two lesser Shadows with an attack from one of his personas. Mona healed them as best as he could, and it swung right back to Valiant. She swiftly removed her mask, raising what she hoped was enough of a shield against the attacker, and sent a powerful spell to damage the coffin.

This relay went on for far too long. Eventually, Joker was able to knock the coffin flat, and the group performed an All Out Attack. It was sloppier than usual, the thieves lacking the energy to put their usual amount of flair into it, but it got the job done.

With that battle, most of the Phantom Thieves were dead on their feet. They retreated to their most recent safe room, and made plans to meet. Despite their lack of energy, they were all excited by Shadow Futaba's words.

Tomorrow, they decided, they would finish securing their route.

* * *

Nobody slept peacefully that night…

Akira Kurusu laid in his bed, staring at the attic ceiling. A million thoughts were running through his head, making him incredibly restless. However, Morgana was laying on top of him, and he didn't have the heart to disturb the cat. Akira resisted the urge to toss and turn, wondering silently if he would be taking a visit to the Velvet Room anytime soon. He could definitely use some guidance right about now, even if he didn't really trust the room's big-nosed, bug-eyed master.

For now, he could only close his eyes and hope he would be able to make the right decisions in his friends' next expedition into the unknown.

Ann was currently trying to fall asleep, but the pressure of a million worries weighed down on her shoulders. She would have to visit Shiho soon, she decided. A visit to one of her closest friends might clear her muddy thoughts.

Why was it that everyone she cared about went through so much pain, to the point where they felt that being alive was just a burden? It wasn't fair, but Ann knew that just as she had done before, she would stop another of her friends from sliding too far down the slippery slope.

Ryuji was doing his best to sleep peacefully. However, it was bugging him, how much he had messed up today. Was he really that insensitive? He always tried his best to be polite and gentle with people like his mom and Sayori… They definitely needed that after all. Maybe Futaba just needed some extra attention to detail… He was finally able to feel himself drifting off, silently promising to do better tomorrow.

Yusuke was barely able to keep himself laying down in his bed, springing up every two seconds to pick up his sketchpad. Everything he had seen in that Palace… He didn't want to forget any of it. The things he had learned in there, it wouldn't be right if they were forgotten. The murals and hieroglyphs, especially. If there ever came a time, Yusuke thought they would serve as a good reminder to Futaba Sakura, after they changed her heart, that she shouldn't allow herself down such a horrendous path ever again.

He was honestly too tired to think straight at this point. Eventually, he would end up falling asleep simply because he didn't have the energy to keep himself awake.

Makoto was stalling. She definitely did want to go to sleep, but she found it was preferable to stay up studying, her own stress about tomorrow making her want to do anything besides sleeping. After awhile, she glanced at the clock beside her bed and sighed. It was going to be a long night and long day ahead of her…

Goro Akechi tossed and turned on his bed, fears and doubts creeping into his head, just as they did almost every night. He never had peaceful nights of rest anymore. Those had stopped the moment he had been granted his powers. There had been a couple nights in the past few months where Sayori would turn that generalization right on its heel, but the idea of making that a permanent thing was laughable. Besides, he had to continue to go over the things he had learned, as the answer was on the tip of his tongue. He had to be as prepared as possible.

Sayori laid on the couch, glancing every so often at Goro's bedroom door, which was closed tightly for once. After everything that had happened that day, this made the pit in her stomach sink even deeper. She felt a lot more alone than usual. Everything was feeling wrong now. She could only hope things would go back to being mostly the same after Futaba's Palace was done…

Except for the part where she flickered out of existence. That part could stay far away from her.

Futaba was exhausted, yet the constant nightmares that she experienced by real sound and real sight were keeping her awake on this particular night. Despite how much progress the Phantom Thieves claimed they were making, these illusions she was suffering seemed worse than ever. Even as she burrowed under the covers of her new bed set, she knew there would be no sleeping for her tonight…

 **I'm in love with the idea that Akechi goes around Mementos with his bike, since he doesn't have Morgana to drive him around. I don't have all that much to say about this chapter, because lately I've been rethinking how exactly I want this story to go. It's given me a lot to look forward to, in a rather roundabout way. Please leave a review on this or on the Tumblr I still have set up. I always appreciate even the smallest feedback on my work, so even if you just want to say something small, please do.**


	45. Chapter 44

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

"We've almost got it!" Skull and Valiant cheered together.

Joker felt his eye twitch ever so slightly as he continued to move the pieces of their latest puzzled picture with the golden control panel. "We?" he asked sarcastically.

"Oh, sorry. You've almost got it," Valiant replied apologetically, Skull nodding in agreement. "Just… move that last piece to the left… No, your other left… there!"

The picture was now complete, marking itself as so with a satisfactory grating sound. Though the Phantom Thieves were happy with their accomplishment, they had a rather somber mood as they viewed the mural. The child pulling on her mother's clothes was most certainly Futaba. It was rather enlightening to see Wakaba Isshiki as well.

" _Mom…"_ A small voice whined, echoing off the pictures.

"More voices…" Panther said sadly, wondering what new damper would be put on their day.

 _Poor Futaba…_ Valiant shuffled her feet, already knowing she wasn't going to like what she was about to hear. "None of this feels right…" She whispered.

" _I'm… I'm tired of eating dinner alone all the time. It's always just convenience store bentos…"_ The small voice continued. The owner of the voice was already known, but the truth of this despairing feeling welling in all of the Phantom Thieves refused to make itself known.

" _I wanna go somewhere. Take me on a trip!"_

"The one clinging to her mother would be Futaba-chan, right?" Panther asked, her voice light, almost drowned out by the suffocating, sorrowful silence that had gripped on to everyone.

" _Don't be so selfish!"_ A new voice spoke this time, that of a young woman… Wakaba herself. Though it was only a quiet moan, the intensity and anger in the voice made the group collectively shudder.

 _This doesn't feel right…_ Valiant repeated in her head, the phrase becoming a mantra to her. _Not right at all…_

" _You know I'm working hard to support you, right!? Ugh!"_ The voice seemed to finally be finished, which caused the Phantom Thieves to let out a breath they didn't know they had all been holding.

The room began to shudder, and the beam of light connected to the gold panel swivelled over, reflecting it's light on the picture, thankfully causing it to fade out. The light now shown on the lock of the farthest door they could see. Judging by how far it was in the building, based off of how it looked on the outside at least, the Phantom Thieves all deduced they had arrived, or were near, the last door that needed opening.

"She seemed pretty angry…" Queen finally spoke. "Is that the maternity neurosis the voice from earlier mentioned?"

"I thought it was pretty normal for a child to want to spend time with their parents though…" Panther said thoughtfully, a sad sigh escaping her.

"Yeah," Skull agreed. "Looks like Futaba was a pretty lonely kid growin' up…"

Through all of this, there was a steady voice repeating the same thing to Sayori as she looked at the distant door that awaited them. It was gentle, the tone sounding like a windchime, yet pounding and insistent as it refused to let up. _None of this sounds right… It's not just that it doesn't sound correct, right? There's something wrong with this whole picture that makes you feel this way…_

"So these incidents compounded, forcing her mother to suicide?" Fox hypothesized.

Those words seemed to summon Shadow Futaba, looking somber and resigned, gazing calmly at the Phantom Thieves.

" _... I must die."_

"Huh?" Panther jumped back in shock at the Shadow's appearance. The others all turned warily, waiting for the next ambush attack that would inevitably strike them because of the Shadow's appearance…

Except Sayori, who looked at the Shadow strangely, almost inquisitively. _This doesn't feel right… Yet, I've been faced with this face of resignation too many times… that I know…_

" _I killed her… That's why I'm here in this tomb…"_ The Shadow continued, unperturbed by the gazes sent her way.

"Don't say that!" Panther shouted angrily, insistent in her words as she gripped her fists.

" _I will die…"_ Shadow Futaba and her words all began to fade out.

Sayori felt a tightness in her throat, and rubbed her face, feeling the salty tracks of tears and sighing. _When did I even start crying…?_

"Futaba-chan!" Panther shouted at the spot where the Shadow had disappeared. When she received no answer, the red-clad thief stamped her foot on the ground.

"Why'd she get so quiet all of a sudden?" Skull asked, his voice beginning to noticeable rise. "What happened to that snarky personality!?"

"Could her heart perhaps be growing weaker?" Fox asked.

"Don't phrase it like that!" Valiant cringed. "You're making it sound like she's going to have a heart attack!"

Fox apologized, noticing seconds too late that Valiant had turned away, shielding the tears and the fear spilling out of her.

"We have to hurry and save her!" Panther shouted in determination. The others couldn't agree more, and all began running towards the door they had just unlocked.

* * *

The door slid open to reveal… another door right behind it. It was different from all of the other dim emerald doors. This one had a glow to it, with caution tape and a "Do Not Enter" sign posted on the front.

"It's open… but what's this?" Panther asked curiously.

None of them had an answer for her. Luckily, Joker noticed a door off to the side. He ran over to it, revealing the safe room. They could come back to it if they had trouble solving this mystery.

After they were done with their quick breather, they charged out the door, invigorated and ready to face anything.

There were no other side doors or hallways they could go down to search for a way to unlock the door, nor was there a white contraption on it. For a couple minutes, the Phantom Thieves pondered if they had to run back and check if there were any rooms they might have missed.

However, the likelihood of this being the case, as stated by Queen, was "close to none," as they had been quite thorough in their search. This prompted Skull to begin banging on the glowing door, kick it lightly at the bottom with his foot, and at one point run up to it and try to kick it in, a boisterous warcry echoing off of the walls.

"This thing ain't openin'!'" He finally grumbled in defeat. "You sure there's no other way to open this around here?" He groaned and sank against the wall as Queen shook her head.

"I think you might be loosening it up," Valiant said encouragingly. "But I don't think it would be very smart to keep going at it like this, Skull. You'll burn yourself out before we manage to get anywhere with it."

Queen seemed to finally notice something, looking at the "Do Not Enter" sign closely. "Hm? This door…"

"It looks familiar...:" Mona pondered.

"All of these signs do seem rather out of place with the theme of this Palace," Valiant offered, crossing her arms and staring down at her feet. She twisted her lips, deep in thought…

Suddenly, it became rather obvious to everyone.

"Futaba's room!" Queen shouted in realization.

"Why ain't it openin'?" Skull asked, only to find that almost everyone was just as clueless as he was.

"It must be her cognition that nobody can open it." Mona explained.

"That doesn't really tell us how we can open it, though…"

Luckily, it seemed that the Palace ruler wasn't completely done with them yet, appearing before them with a thoughtful expression. " _I'm surprised that you made it this far,"_ Shadow Futaba spoke. " _Beyond lies the Pharaoh's Chamber."_

"So the Treasure's through here?" Skull asked, walking up to her slowly, not wanting to scare her away again.

The Shadow suddenly seemed nervous, looking down at her fidgeting hands, though she continued to speak calmly. " _Indeed. However, you need my permission to open this door."_

"Then open it for us," Skull replied with a tone of urgency.

" _I cannot. You must have her invite you in,"_ the Shadow spoke.

Valiant felt a lump in her throat, thinking back to the images she had seen once again. _Things are beginning to connect in a weird, wrong way. But I don't know why… I wish I had let my friends in… Before_ he _opened the doors himself… I can't change that now, so I'll make sure that Futaba doesn't suffer like I did!_ She glanced at the people in front of her, each determined to reach this one common goal.

The group was able to piece together for themselves the solution to their problem. However, they could already tell that getting the real Futaba's permission to open her bedroom door was going to be easier said than done.

" _Considering that you made it all the way here, you may be able to do it…"_ Shadow Futaba admitted, rising up and fading away once again. When nothing happened afterwards, the Phantom Thieves were all struck by how quiet the Palace now seemed, the only sounds being that which the real Futaba claimed she often heard in the withering silence of her room… the closed door echoing static…

The Phantom Thieves quickly came up with their next course of action. They would return to reality once, and get a calling card and everything else they needed ready. Then they would go back to Sojirio's house and sneak in once again, and convince Futaba to open her door. Joker was in charge of creating any excuses they might need. Skull and Queen would write the calling card.

Valiant quietly offered help with writing the card if necessary, too lost in her own thoughts to sound too serious about it, despite her good intentions. The Phantom Thieves noticed this, and instead assigned her the simple task of making sure nothing too inconvenient or bothersome got in their way before they would set out to swipe the Treasure.

"Basically," Joker said, "keep the nosy detective off the trail."

With a new plan in mind, the Phantom Thieves made their way outside and deactivated the Nav. The journey back to "reality" feeling like an impatient weight on their shoulders.

* * *

"I'm home! And I bought groceries!" Sayori shouted, attempting to wave her arms happily, only for them to be brought down by the heavy bags hanging from her arms.

"You're back earlier than usual," Goro observed, crossing the room to take some of the bags away from her, specifically the ones containing fragile items like eggs and bread.

"You could say things got cut short," Sayori replied sheepishly. "We had to go home early because… my friend was a bit more tense than usual."

"So you all decided to give her space. Very admirable," Goro complimented, setting his share of the bags on the table. "Have you given your friend that poem I gave you?"

Sayori seemed to internally freeze, remembering the folded paper she had stashed in her pocket like a good luck charm. "No. To be honest, I guess I just haven't found the right time. My friends and I plan on visiting her for longer tomorrow. I'll give it to her then."

The detective nodded thoughtfully, masking the doubt, and slight emotional pain in his expression very well. "That's good… Since I can't give it to her myself, it would definitely mean a lot if you did it in my stead…"

Sayori had begun to sit in her usual spot, only to hesitate, her legs bent awkwardly in the air. "What's this about all of a sudden? Are you okay, Goro?" She tilted her head and frowned thoughtfully, before her legs finally gave and she fell into her seat

The detective didn't answer, simply sitting down in the chair farthest from Sayori with a tired sigh. "I'm like I've always been… I suppose…"

Sayori winced at his sulking, not liking it one bit. "Oh, come on. Don't be like that when we're about to make dinner. I know that you know I wouldn't just leave you alone like this without a good reason… I want to enjoy the time I have with you right now." She scooted closer to Goro, resting her chest on the arm rest and reaching forward to lightly tap the detective on the hand.

"I know… I guess lately… Everything has been feeling familiar...:" The detective wrinkled his nose, as if that word were unfit to describe what he was thinking about.

"How?" Sayori asked, staring at him now, a sad gleam in her eyes.

"I've been remembering things so much more clearly, lately. A few months ago, if I were to look back, I'd remember my mother as a completely different person. Her personality was the same, but I would always think that she was just like everyone else… At least in how everyone viewed me, when she was around," the detective laughed bitterly to himself, before turning to see Sayori's curious gaze following his every movement.

"Why don't you think that way anymore?" Sayori asked, her wide, innocent eyes somehow gluing him to his spot, making him unable to look away from her.

"Well," the detective cleared his throat, adjusting the neck of his shirt, not able to hold back the blush of embarrassment. "This is going to sound rather ridiculous…"

"Try me."

"Well… What do you think of me, Sayori?"

The full weight of the question seemed to sink in fully when she noticed the sudden shyness that had taken hold of the detective. _Does he really put that much weight into the fact that I remind him so much of her?_ Sayori hummed to herself thoughtfully upon realizing this, knowing she had to think carefully about her answer. Goro thrived on compliments, but he would know if she wasn't being honest, or completely truthful. With all of her suspicion she now had of him, she had to be creative with it. Though almost all of her thoughts of him were positive, there was still the slightest bit of doubt brought on by the few instances she had of his suspicious behavior.

 _He's been waiting for this answer for so long now… Probably even before he asked it he wanted me to answer this for him,_ Sayori thought guiltily, directing her gaze to her feet, the tightness in her throat making it hard to answer. Hesitantly, Sayori glanced back at Goro. Though he looked at her with his usual charming grin, she noticed his near perfect posture slowly beginning to wilt as she hesitated.

After what felt like hours, but was in fact less than a minute, Sayori finally felt she had the right words to say. She took a deep breath, before giving the detective a smile, which was both real, and happy. "Goro, you are you… And the fact that even after everything you must have gone through, you still can't completely hide yourself away under your charming TV pretense… I feel so happy, because I'm not afraid when I know that I can still count on myself to make even the rainiest of days brighter for you, and get to see the real way you smile." And it was true, whenever she saw him on TV, he looked like a wax statue or a doll, light never seeming to reach his eyes. It was a shame, because his eyes sparkled like gemstones when he was really, truly happy.

The detective nodded thoughtfully, about to respond, when Sayori chuckled and shook her head. She wasn't done yet. Goro seemed shocked by this, as though he expected there wasn't much else to say.

"I remember, I was so sad when I got so close to someone I loved for so long. I couldn't understand why, but I always felt like a burden for sharing those feelings with him, and regardless of how he reacted, I felt horrible about myself…" Sayori felt tears at the corners of her eyes at the thought of what that eventually lead to, and the uncertainty it brought. Despite this, she swallowed the lump in her throat, smiled, and continued. "I don't feel that way with you, because I can see that my efforts to be happy, to make everyone else happy, are working."

She was no longer staring unknowingly through a hole in the wall, in a vacant, broken world. Sayori was not frictionless in the void around her… She had an impact… and now she could open her eyes and see it for herself.

Sayori seemed to be done, so Goro opened his mouth to speak, only for her to quickly add something that made both of them blush red as Sayori laughed at herself.

"I like your smile, it's so cute when it's real."

The detective chuckled a bit as well, before pondering her words.

"So… You feel happy… When you feel that you know I'm being the real me?"

"Well, it's more like when I'm around you… and you're not grumpy and sulky… Though I think I have a soft spot for those times too…" Sayori seemed to be thinking more about this, and was about to continue, when Goro held up a hand for her to stop.

"That's enough, Sayori. That's all I really needed to hear…" The detective smiled to himself, making Sayori grin with satisfaction, savoring the small moment that was quickly overtaken by a barely acknowledged despair.

"You really do remind me so much of her… And now it's all so clear that you two probably think the same way too," Goro sighed in what was, oddly enough, disappointment. "If you don't think lowly of me because of what I am, someone who others used to always view as a mistake, then she must not have either. Maybe I wasn't the burden I always thought I was… But that also makes things so much more confusing…"

"Hm?" Sayori leaned back into her seat, feeling confused, not really sure where he was going with this, yet also getting an eerie feeling in the back of her head. All the while she kept a close gaze on Goro, who was slowly starting to curl up and wilt.

"It's not worth thinking about… What's done is done. But... I also know one other thing… That both of you would be disappointed in me…"

"Huh!? What's this all about?" Sayori asked in shock. She sprung up from her seat and bounded over to the detective.

Goro didn't answer, a new train of thought running through his mind and crashing into every preconceived notion he used to have. _If my mother never saw me in such a negative way before… than she'd probably hate me for all the things I've done in her name… And Sayori would hate me too…_

Sayori put a trembling hand on Goro's shoulder, nervous about what new thoughts could be vandalizing his mind now. However, he hardly seemed to notice the affectionate gesture. The detective instead slowly got up from his chair, trudged to his room, and shut the door.

 _He didn't even say goodnight…_ Sayori thought sadly to herself later, lying perfectly still on the couch. Slowly, her eyes slid shut as her body finally relaxed. She was too tired to be scared about what the next few days would bring. She could only silently wonder, hope, and dream about a new beginning for those she held dear.

* * *

Everyone sat at Akira's table with an expectant posture. Everything was ready. All they had to do was get Futaba to invite them in. This of course, was one of the main subjects of their meeting. How exactly were they supposed to do that?

"We'll be honest," Akira said resolutely.

"Yes, that is the best course of action," Makoto agreed.

"Yeah!" Sayori said happily. "She was really brave to even seek us out in the first place, so being honest with her is the least we could do. Besides, after everything we've seen inside her Palace, I would like to be friends with her. I don't want to be mean by bribing her or whatever other thing we could do."

"So are we just gonna go up and tell her point blank that today's the day we steal her heart?" Ryuji asked incredulously.

"Exactly," Makoto said. "It's rather straightforward." She went on to explain her thought process, making sure everyone understood what she was getting at.

"... As Sayori said, Futaba was brave enough to contact us, despite her discomfort with being around other people. Surely, the desire to have her heart stolen will lead to her opening her door and letting us in."

"You're right," Ann agreed. "Our feelings should get through if we just try and talk to her."

"All right! I believe in Futaba!" Ryuji cheered. "C'mon, let's get this done!"

Everyone nodded in agreement, and the group set out to once again sneak into Sojiro Sakura's house.

* * *

" _How long will you continue blaming yourself and shutting yourself away from the world?"_

Futaba, already quite shocked from the giant glowing red mirror image of herself just floating around in her room, could only give a question in response. "Blaming myself for what?"

" _For your mother's death."_

Futaba looked away from the copy with a horrible mixture of hesitation and sadness. The copy, this "other Futaba" that it claimed to be, took this look as a prompt to continue.

" _Don't you think it's time you grasped the truth of that moment? What happened before your eyes… What happened to your mother…"_

"The truth…" Futaba trailed off, looking quite conflicted.

" _Why did you choose to rely on the Phantom Thieves?"_

"That's…"

The Futaba copy seemed rather impatient with the hesitation her other-other self was showing.

" _Are you simply going to shut yourself in and do nothing? Are you going to avert your eyes from the true answer… We have both met them… Whether you want to believe it or not. Allies and enemies alike… We faced them together. If you don't grasp the truth of this, I will kill both of them, indiscriminately in your world."_

With those words, the other Futaba vanished, leaving the orange-haired girl alone in her room to consider this.

"I-I… What should I do…?" Futaba asked herself helplessly.

* * *

"There's no mistaking it," Morgana said. "This is the same door as in the Palace."

Makoto took the initiative, knocking on the door. "Hello, Futaba? You're there, aren't you? Please answer us."

"I doubt she'd answer…" Morgana commented, looking unimpressed.

"We'll probably have to text like last time," Sayori guessed. The others all nodded, so Makoto tried again.

"Alibaba, we know you're there. It doesn't matter if it's through chat messaging. Just answer us."

Akira's phone vibrated, and he quickly got it out. Everyone eagerly tried to get a look at the small phone screen.

" _You should have told me you were going to come here_."

"Sorry we came here unannounced," Sayori replied. "But if we're going to steal your heart, you need to open this door for us… Okay?"

"We can't change your heart otherwise!" Makoto said urgently. "Please let us in…"

" _Not OK! I'm not mentally prepared!"_

Akira sent a message in reply, conveying an even greater urgency to open the door.

" _Easy for you to say…_ "

"Futaba-chan…" Sayori said gently, putting her face against the door and making her voice slightly muffled. "I know it's weird, but you told us you have to invite us in… Well, I guess it was kind of you, but actually deeper down… I'm not making sense at all…" The pink haired girl lifted her face and slammed her palm against her forehead.

"What she's trying to say is, deep down… You want to open this door…" Makoto explained. "Right?" Sayori quietly composed herself as the brown haired girl made her own attempts to get through to Futaba.

"Futaba… I know it's hard… but I promise, you'll be helping everyone, including yourself, if you do this," Sayori said with a reassuring smile. "Don't make a mistake you can't fix… Open the door so we can make the storm clouds, static, and all un-truths disappear."

" _Sayori is weird…_ _Give me some time…_ "

* * *

A few minutes later, Makoto knocked on the door. "Time's up, Alibaba."

" _All right, I'll open it now._ "

The Phantom Thieves watched with bated breath as the doorknob was slowly twisted, and the door itself creaked open slightly a second later. Not sparing a second, the group walked in.

The room they found themselves in was very messy, dusty, and overall looked like an unfit place for a young girl to live. The group looked at research papers warily, wondering what the complex language meant. The room was packed with everything, but one thing was missing.

"Futaba?" Sayori called. "I know we might seem scary… But do you really have to hide from us?"

There was a creak from a nearby closet, and everyone turned to it in alarm.

"She'll shut herself in to the bitter end, hm?" Yusuke questioned, unimpressed.

"Even if that door's opened up, we'll get stopped again inside," Morgana said. "I bet a fence or something formed right in front of the Treasure now."

"Th-This makes no sense!" Futaba suddenly shouted from inside the closet. "Explain yourselves!"

"Whoa, she talked…" Ryuji said, genuinely shocked.

Makoto, as the best explainer of the group, did her best to tell Futaba what they were trying to do in the simplest way possible. Nobody expected the girl to understand what it meant, since none of them had understood it without Morgana's help. However, it was quickly revealed that Futaba was still full of surprises.

"So basically, my cognition is being a hindrance, keeping you away from the core of my cognitive world?"

"Huh? She understood it?" Ann asked.

"Wow! Maybe you're the psychic," Sayori complimented the orange haired girl.

"You're weird… Things are making more sense now because of that… Oddly enough."

"Why do you know about the cognitive world?" Makoto asked nervously. "Who are you?"

Futaba didn't answer, instead making a hesitant grunt.

The Phantom Thieves all looked at each other and nodded, except for Sayori, who had no idea what they were about to do. She was rather shocked, and quite worried, when they began to ask the girl even more questions. However, she was even more shocked when it seemed to have the desired effect they were all going for, instead of making her more adamant to hide in her wooden cave.

"Why'd you call yourself Alibaba and make things more complicated?" Ryuji began. "If you wanted help, you could've just asked for it."

Futaba mumbled something, none of the Phantom Thieves able to make it out.

"Futaba, I know it's hard, but can you speak up?" Sayori asked, smiling sweetly.

Futaba grunted angrily. "'Cause I was embarrassed." She seemed to be getting rather impatient with the group, and Sayori suddenly got a sneaking suspicion of what they were trying to do.

 _Are they asking her all these questions on purpose, so she'll get fed up with us and stop hiding just to get rid of us?_ Sayori was both horrified and impressed with the devious tactic. _I'm so weirdly proud right now…_

Suddenly Ann started speaking. If anybody could get somebody to reveal themselves just to get another person to stop talking, all of them could probably do it on their own… but Ann was definitely a good bet.

"I think I get it. Asking someone for help isn't that easy…"

"Futaba, what do you know about the cognitive world?" Sayori chimed in. "I don't think any of us have an expert knowledge on it… so maybe you could help us out?"

"How do you know about the cognitive world?" Makoto also asked.

"'Cause I knew about it," came the short reply.

"Oh… That reminds me," Ann continued. "Boss was talking about "cognition" or something before, right?"

The people in the room began to talk among themselves, completely ignoring Futaba, still hiding herself away behind the wooden door. Their tactics were working, as Futaba sounded rather irritated next time she spoke.

"Cognitive psience with a PSI in front! Less science, more supernatural. That's important," she explained.

"Well that certainly got her attention…" Yusuke remarked. "It seems we're on the right track."

The questions continued. After asking the girl more about cognitive psience, and getting no response, everybody began to think they should do this later… That is, until Ann finally put her foot down.

"Hold on," she said with a stubborn determination. "Futaba-chan. Did you really kill your mother?"

Everyone looked at her in shock, but she continued with no qualms. "Wasn't her death an accident? What actually happened? Maternity neurosis?" Her voice was now beginning to rise. "Is that really true?"

"Ann," Yusuke whispered in warning, only for Sayori to chime in as well.

"Futaba, you might think I'm weird, or that we're all weird… But we saw your heart, and it didn't make any sense. Nothing adds up with what Boss said…" Sayori fidgeted with her hands, nervously adding, "I'm really worried about you, because this kind of thing shouldn't be as common as it's turning out to be." _I understand that each place I go to is going to have some sort of conflict, because that's just how these things work, but why does that always seem to involve my friends being tortured and feeling miserable…?_

Ann continued with her own questions as Sayori began to check out of the conversation. "We saw what you're heart was like, but we still can't figure anything out. The mother that Boss told us about is completely different from your cognition." There was a moan from inside the closet, and Ann was encouraged to continue. "We want to hear the truth from your mouth."

"M-My mom… was…" Futaba struggled to speak. "The… one who killed her… was… Nngh…"

"It's possible that she can't remember because her heart has become distorted," Makoto hypothesized.

Ann looked down and nodded in understanding, disappointed in herself. "I'm so sorry, Futaba-chan. I, um… A lot happened, so… I'm sorry."

That finally seemed to do the trick, as Futaba burst out of the closet all of a sudden. "Th-There! Now steal it!" She shouted, holding up her trembling arms in a surrendering gesture.

The team looked in shock, before awkwardly explaining that they weren't going to steal it at that exact moment. Futaba looked down in understanding, before dejectedly going back to her hiding spot.

She had still let them in that far, so stealing the Treasure was now assured. They decided to give her a brief explanation of how they entered the cognitive world upon her prompting and then left the room. Ryuji remembered at the last minute to give her a calling card, and Morgana decided to stay behind to make sure Futaba would read it.

"Thank you, Futaba-chan! We won't let you down!" Sayori called into the room before sliding the door shut. _I promise, everything will get better… I'll make sure of it._

* * *

The pyramid was the same as it ever was, but all of the Phantom Thieves could feel the high amount of tension in the air. This was the final day of this Palace. Afterwards, they were leaving it in Futaba's hands to stop Medjed for them.

Despite the validity of the fake Medjed, Valiant felt worried about how exactly the conclusion of this Palace would go. As they looked up at the intimidating structure, they all wondered what exactly they would face in the Pharaoh's Tomb.

"The Palace's security level is so high I can feel it from all the way out here," Panther commented as they all exited the Mona-bus.

"Futaba seemed totally up for gettin' her heart stolen… What's up with this?" Skull asked, gesturing towards the Palace on high alert.

"Something about this place really is unusual," Mona said. "Either way, there's only one thing for us to do now that we've sent the calling card!"

"Hell yeah!" Skull agreed. "No matter what we gotta face, we're gonna take that Treasure for sure!"

Everyone gave their own shouts of agreement, the excitement palpable as they ran to the Palace and entered, running up the large staircase.

The panels of the last door slid open easily, and they all felt some relief in that, yet there was also a tension in the air, as they knew they were about to face the hardest part of Futaba's Palace.

"The Treasure is up ahead!" Mona shouted. "Let's finish this!" With that said, the group rushed through the door, hoping they were ready to face whatever challenges they might find there.

At the last second, Valiant glanced back through the doorway, a small pinprick of suspicion running through her at the mostly abandoned hallways. There was an air of foreboding, and she couldn't help the nervous sweat that trailed down her face.

 _What will happen now…?_

* * *

Goro Akechi was once again crossing into the Metaverse, bike handles held firmly in his grasp. Chances were that it was the last day Futaba Sakura's Palace would be here. Judging by the high levels of security he could feel emanating from the pyramid, the detective knew without a shadow of a doubt that he wasn't going to be able to avoid any fights.

He carefully hid his bike behind a pile of stone, and entered the Palace quietly, intent on investigating on his own terms. The currently red-masked detective had his own business here.

 _If I'm ever going to get any peace of mind, I need to fully understand all of the damage I really have done… Even if I'm not wanted here._

That was a fair enough thing to want, but Goro Akechi had never known when to quit, especially when it came to the Metaverse it seemed. Hopefully, he could take a quick look around the Palace, while the security was focusing its attention on the Phantom Thieves.

 _If whoever was here still is, I need to at least try to find them with the time I have left. I need to get Sayori out before the worst comes… I won't be able to handle her finding out about the truth of this place… and me._

With that thought in mind, Goro Akechi closed the door shut behind him and began the search of the Palace from square one.

* * *

The Pharaoh's Tomb was darkly lit and crawling with guards. They were unavoidable obstacles, lying just above the simple hallway in a space they reached with a rising platform, not unlike an elevator. The open space they found themselves in had a red, heavy energy that made all of the Thieve's heads spin, similar to the pressure of travelling to and from the Metaverse. The only difference was the lack of cold in the tops of their ears as the blood rushed out of their heads. Simply put, they didn't feel like passing out in this area.

This was an incredibly good thing, because as mentioned before, the Shadows that were there to greet them were incredibly powerful, and incredibly hostile. The Phantom Thieves noticed this immediately upon arrival, and made sure to keep a firm grip on their weapons as they began running and jumping on the stone platforms, passing by the floating projections of computer text that received attention only when the group felt they had a moment to look.

These moments were rare, as Joker almost immediately ran up to a nearby Shadow and removed its mask, precluding the possibility of it getting the jump on them. Now the Phantom Thieves had the first move, which was an advantage against the powerful enemy.

This Shadow would be the first of many in the final stages of Futaba Sakura's Palace, yet the difficulty of it confirmed the uphill status that they were all well aware of. Yet through the power of their wills, the Phantom Thieves continued to carry out the final stages of this operation with unparalleled wit, skill… and most importantly, flair.

Valiant felt plain in comparison as she watched her friends perform the grandiose moves they had been made to perform. However, she was also aware that she had the natural skill to glide across the room whenever she herself went in for a physical attack. Perhaps it was because of the setting where she truly belonged, where she slid across the screen with the occasional bounce. Or maybe it was because those long months of practice were paying off, because she felt that she was truly in her element as she watched Panther and Queen deal the finishing blow to this particularly unlucky Shadow, for neither of the girls were taking any nonsense on this important day. And the pink haired thief shared those same determined sentiments as the Phantom Thieves launched into their All-Out-Attack, tearing through their enemy like tissue-paper.

 _Two down, a lot more to go…_

The Phantom Thieves couldn't wait.

* * *

He was fairly certain he had looked at every square inch of this pyramid, excluding the place where the Phantom Thieves were obviously at. It was rather unnerving, because at any time they could be finished with their operation, causing the Palace to collapse as a result.

It was frustrating to say the least. Any secrets or details Akechi could have uncovered about the consequences of his actions had been found and activated by the Phantom Thieves already, leaving him with the dry experience of wandering through the place, brutalizing Shadows, and reaping absolutely no benefits from it.

Why would he ever consider finding details about the trauma he had inflicted on a poor person and her family beneficial, you may ask? Goro wasn't quite sure either, though he was growing suspicious that he simply enjoyed making himself miserable. Maybe Sayori being in his life was _too much_ of a good thing, and whatever messed up part of him that could cause a person to lose all of their inhibitions was trying to correct it.

 _And all I've found is a stupid letter from something completely unrelated to that!_

Also, there was something in the back of his head urging him to continue forward, unprocessed and unaccessible, but still definitely there. If he could just find that one thread to pull, he could unravel this entire mystery and get out of here before he was caught.

This was how he found himself in the gold lit room, staring at the giant glowing orb shining through the many opened doorways of the Palace. It was a curious contraption that the orb and its stream of light were attached to, but that was really the only thing remarkable about this room.

Except for the whispers.

Quiet voices echoed up and down and all over the walls, disorienting the unwelcomed, and off duty, mercenary. He couldn't make any of the voices out, unable to recognize even a single word of what was being said. It turned that unprocessed thing in the back of his mind into a physical irritation. It was an itch he couldn't scratch, a sore he couldn't rub, and it was maddening.

Goro Akechi was, on the surface, your everyday, average, child detective. So with nothing else in sight to satisfy his aching curiosity, he messed around with the giant orb-containing machine. He poked and prodded at it. At one point he kicked the side of it to see if that would cause it to repeat whatever it had shown to the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. But nothing happened. Even the control panel seemed to be locked in place.

Goro Akechi was also, on both the inside and outside, an idiotic fool. So that was why when he looked at the bright stream of light, which shone with such an intensity that he couldn't look at it directly for more than a few seconds, his only thoughts were, _This could only lead to good things._

And he touched it.

It was a wonder why his Persona wasn't Steve Irwin.

Instantly, a million thoughts and recollections shot across his brain, coming and going in less than a millisecond. He had only a few bits and pieces to grasp onto, leaving the rest of his brain muddled and weak. The million voices that must torment Futaba Sakura on a daily basis swam through his head, causing bile to rise in his throat.

But at the helm of it, surprisingly, were the two voices of women long passed from this world, echoing and bobbing on the waves of Goro's thoughts, making it impossible to recollect anything other than the fact of their presence in his mind. There weren't even any words to hang onto, just the knowledge that they were there.

 _Looks like I've found a lead,_ Goro Akechi thought groggily.

* * *

The room was incredibly dark, lit only by the glowing green panels that decorated the floor and nearby coffin. The silence was incredibly heavy in the tomb, a complete contrast to the large chamber the Phantom Thieves had just come from. As they all stood in the dark, silent room, a collective chill went down their spines at the knowledge that anything could jump out at them from the dimly lit corners. Still…

"The hell? This ain't what I was imaginin'!" Skull remarked with a raised eyebrow.

"Were you expecting a mountain of treasure or something of that sort?" Fox asked, sarcasm heavy in his tone as he turned his head in Skull's direction.

"It's not as bad as what I expected to find in here…" Valiant murmured, glancing nervously at the large, suspiciously coffin-shaped box. She, of course, knew it was a coffin, but simply didn't want to accept it for fear of what that coffin might contain.

"Are you still goin' on about corpses, Val?" Skull attempted a teasing smirk, though he also felt that such a thing would be a rather fitting thing to find in a tomb.

"N-No!" She stuttered, stamping her foot in stubbornness. Of course, something she wouldn't dare speak out loud was exactly what Skull was proposing. She was still going on about corpses inside her own head, because of one important fact. _We haven't run into the final obstacle in this Palace. Is there going to be some Zombie or Mummy horde waiting for us as soon as we get out of this room?_

Little did she know that it was going to be much, much worse.

"There IS that over there," Panther commented, nodding towards the glowing green coffin. "While I doubt there's an actual body in there, or a bunch of gold…"

"The Treasure must be inside," Queen concluded.

"That's it…" Skull sighed in disappointment. "I was hopin' for something a bit more exciting."

"Don't say something like that, Skull!" Valiant shouted, not at all thrilled by the mounting tension around her. It was like an energy in the room, and just by being in the midst of it the pink-haired girl knew that they were about to be jumpscared. "You're going to jinx it!"

"You need to relax, Valiant," Mona said as he excitedly hopped up to the large coffin. "It shouldn't be news that Skull is one of the dullest knives in the drawer…"

"Hey!"

"But as long as we're all quiet and sneak this Treasure out cautiously, we won't have a problem at all," The cat-creature said in a reassuring voice, though Valiant was hardly comforted.

Skull, perhaps already used to having his intelligence insulted by Mona, had shaken off his anger, replacing it with excitement. "All right, let's take it!" The blond walked casually up to the large coffin.

"Be careful," Fox warned, crossing his arms.

Mona, meanwhile, was freaking out. "T-Treasure!" He seemed unable to contain himself, running over excitedly to join Skull at the coffin.

Just as the two reached it, a loud bang was heard from above everyone, a loud, shrill roar accompanying it. Everyone looked up in alarm.

"There's something here…" Fox said lowly, as everyone got into a defensive stance.

 _That's what I've been trying to say!_ Valiant internally screamed. _Wait… Didn't Futaba's Shadow say something the first time we heard noises like this? When we first came here, she said something like…_

All of a sudden, the rooftop stones of the pyramid were ripped away, letting sunlight stream into the previously dark room. Everyone stumbled around, making small screams of surprise. The Phantom Thieves looked up into the huge gaping hole, waiting for whatever had created it to reveal itself. Dust particles shone in the light, and they were all Valiant could really keep her eyes on as she slowly remembered what Shadow Futaba had warned them about.

" _My mother lives here…"_ Was what she had said. The memory of it came just as the beast revealed itself. A very large, very human head. It was probably the most terrifying thing Sayori had ever seen up until now. For now they could only see part of the hair and the eye. However, the large, monstrous eye that glared down at them promised the size of the monster they were about to face.

And Sayori screamed just as the monster itself started to shriek out the name of the Palace's owner.

" **Fuuuuutaaaaaabaaaaaa!"**

* * *

"If I use this, I can change my heart?" Futaba asked, her voice wavering despite having calmed down after receiving all of the overwhelming visitors. She was crouched in her chair, investigating the strange red app that had appeared on her phone right before the Thieves had come. She supposed it was lucky that they had told her what its purpose was so easily. If she were them, she probably would have kept its purpose in the dark no matter what. Not that they thought she had the app to begin with.

Upon closer inspection, she found a small megaphone like icon upon activating the app, accompanied by small bars and a line of text underneath.

"Vocal input…?" Futaba trailed off. For an app that could almost magically transport you to a world inside another person's heart, this wasn't what she was expecting. But then again, she had no idea what to expect in the first place, so she might as well accept the absurdity of her situation and move on.

"Fu-" She hesitated, already anxious about what would happen. But despite everything she already knew to be truth, Futaba felt that she needed to see it with her own eyes, if she truly wanted to find out the truth and confess it with her own mouth. If only she knew… If she had a nickel for every time someone wanted to see the state of her mind simply for the purpose of seeing it, she's have at least two nickels.

It wasn't much, but it was still strange it had happened twice, if you counted Futaba herself.

So with this goal in mind, Futaba spoke clearly. "Fu- Futaba Sakura…"

There was a beep.

"Sojiro Sakura's house…"

Another beep. _Candidate found._

"And then… Something about 'distortion'..." Futaba wracked her brain, searching for anything the Phantom Thieves might have said. She shook her head, as if that would jumble the memories loose. "Distortion… Distortion…"

As if by some cruel twist of fate, Futaba could already recognize the writhing, painful feeling as her mind began to cloud over and fill with voices. "Not again…"

It was always agony, listening to the voices of people she had once believed to be close family and friends, accusing her of a crime that had affected her as well. However, the timing and force of this incident hardly seemed coincidental to Futaba. Could it be that this was yet another obstacle in her way, trying to stop her before she entered her cognitive world?

Amidst the normal voices accusing her, Futaba could have sworn she heard a new voice, never heard before by her… So it was strange that it was in her memory in the first place.

" _You killed her!"_

" _You're a plague!"_

" _Don't… Strain… You-"_

" _It's all your fault!"_

"No!" Futaba got up from her chair and ran out of her room and into the hallway, slamming the door as she went. Upon entering the place the Phantom Thieves had spent so much time trying to coax her out, it suddenly hit her. "That's right… I remember now," Futaba said as she looked around. "Back when they were here, I- I messaged 'tomb' in the chat and…"

The world around her blurred.

 _Input accepted. Searching for route to destination._

"I can go in now?" Futaba asked, looking at her phone once more. Once again, the voices began to invade, and this time, the new voice became rather insistent about its presence.

 _:Don't strain yourself. Don't strain yourself… We wouldn't want you to repeat her deja vu…_

If the voices from before had been insistent and evasive, this one was just plain annoying. Combined with the already constant voices that were unbearable, Futaba began to break down.

"I can't take this anymore!"

 _Beginning navigation._

* * *

The entire Palace seemed to tremble, causing Goro to stumble and fall ungracefully onto his behind. For a second he considered the possibility that the Phantom Thieves were finishing their task and the Palace was collapsing as a result. He looked out into the main hallway and found bits of debris and dust falling from the ceiling, which only provoked his suspicions all the more.

He was about to call this entire self assigned operation of finding out information he needed (or at the very least, really wanted) to know a lost cause, and bolt for the door. However, that was put to a firm stop when a very shrill roar could be heard from above the Palace, followed by even more rumbling and a crashing sound, and a blood curdling scream.

Sayori's blood curdling scream…

With reckless abandon, Goro hopped down from the floor he was previously on and charged up the stairs, not really knowing what he was planning on doing when he got to Sayori's location, but determined to do something, _anything_ , nevertheless.

However, any plans or desires to help his distressed companion were put to an immediate stop when the last door slammed shut right as he was about to enter it. If the detective hadn't jumped back in time, the crushing force of the door slamming back down certainly would have crushed him.

Goro stared at the door in stunned silence, bile rising up in his throat as he heard the sounds of combat from above. Loud crashes, thuds, and even gunshots were heard. But even from all the way down here, Goro could tell just by the cries of anguish that the Phantom Thieves were currently fighting a losing battle.

With little to no other choice, he abandoned trying to enter through the door and went to search for another way in, as futile as it sounded. Though at this point, he knew if he couldn't find another way to Sayori's location from here, he would gladly go outside in the blazing heat and scale the entire, stupid pyramid.

And maybe he would. This entire operation had been pointless. It didn't matter what he found out here, because it wouldn't make any difference in what he would have to continue to do in the future. He would probably be Masayoshi Shido's hitman for the rest of his life, however short that may be. It had been foolish of him to act on his morbid curiosity, and unnecessarily cruel to insert himself into the heart of one of his victims.

All of a sudden, there was an earth shaking thud coming from above, as if whatever was attacking from above was a mallet, pounding on the Phantom Thieves, and the Palace itself, like it was a nail it needed to drive into the ground. There was yet another long and loud shrill, though this time Goro could just barely make out what it was saying.

"'Futaba?'" He silently questioned. Despite the heavy layers of distortion that made the voice sound like some ungodly bird monster, the detective found it almost familiar.

And just like that, the words from years past began to form in his head.

" _Will this be enough?"_

" _Yes… I should be able to get the food I need for this week. Thanks…"_

The Palace went fuzzy for a few minutes, and by the time Goro Akechi was fully aware of his surroundings again, a deep rooted fear was blossoming in his chest and nearly paralyzing him.

"It can't be…" he murmured, before another crash from above had him racing down the stairs with the full intent of climbing the large structure from the outside. At least he wasn't wearing black for this particular endeavor.

* * *

Futaba looked around, wide eyed. "So this is inside my heart…" She remarked quietly to herself. It wasn't quite a statement, but it wasn't a question either. The room she found herself in was enormous, with distant, slightly blurry text passing by on the walls. Futaba squinted at it, and to the untrained eye it would have looked like nonsense. But Futaba was not untrained. From the few glimpses she was able to get of the wall, already the young hacker was developing a better understanding of how cognition worked.

She noticed a particular section of text that caused her eyes to widen in even greater alarm, so much so that it hurt after a few seconds of looking. Futaba looked away for a moment and blinked a few times, relaxing the muscles in her face. "I didn't think my heart would be like this…"

Futaba turned towards the same section of the wall where she had seen such a suspicious piece of information, but it had disappeared… replaced with the rapidly shifting piles of text and information. With that lead having gone cold, Futaba began to hesitantly walk forward, hands behind her back, as she swivelled her head back and forth, looking around at the strange room. It was like a small child browsing the aisles of a toy store, looking for something that interested them, though at the same time, not truly caring if they found it.

Before she made even ten feet of distance from her starting point, a large, dulled painting slammed onto the ground with a loud _THUD!_ Futaba recoiled in alarm, though the painting was a safe enough distance away that she hardly needed to worry about getting crushed. "Huh!?" She gasped, stumbling backwards a few feet.

" _Do you remember?"_ Floating to the ground was that same mirror image of herself from earlier, though now she was less faded, lacking that red aura from earlier.

And Futaba _did_ remember, as she looked at the same mural the Phantom Thieves had discovered not long ago. "This is the suicide note… The men in black suits read it right after mom died…"

" _That's correct. Look at the next one."_

And Futaba looked at it. Bad memories caused her skull to pound as she sunk to the floor, remembering all of the details of the worst day of her life in vivid detail, from the heart-stopping moment when she realized her mother was suddenly no longer holding her hand, to the loud _CRUNCH_ that had shattered her entire world.

Another thud. " _That's right. Now the next."_

Futaba was trembling, kneeling down on the floor, filled to the brim with utter despair and fear. "No…" She murmured weakly, unable to lift her head.

" _Don't run. I thought you made your mind up after you talked to the Phantom Thieves, and after you decided to get so invested in their lives. Accept_ your _reality,"_ the doppelganger spoke these words calmly, yet at the same time portraying a confidence Futaba had never thought she would ever be capable of having for herself.

It was strangely encouraging.

"OK… I'll look." Futaba stood up, and began to describe the events that she remembered from this particular day. "It's me complaining… Mom scolded me for bothering her…"

" _Yes."_

"I knew it," Futaba cringed as she spoke, her voice was beginning to waver. "It was me who killed Mom. I was a bad daughter… I was a bad daughter… I weighed her down, and she hated me for it. It's just like I remember…" She out her hands over her eyes and began to cry.

If Futaba had been looking around her at that moment, at the travelling text on the walls, she would have noticed the abnormal way they began to act, moving faster and faster, as if reacting to this admission with its own separate conscience. It did this for several moments before it slowed down and eventually stopped all together. An area in the shade wavered. It was Futaba's Shadow that took notice of this, scowling slightly before directing her attention to her real life self.

" _Are you sure?"_

Futaba looked up from her hands with a sniffle. "Huh?"

" _Remember everything. Don't avert your eyes. When did this happen?"_ The Shadow was stern, prompting Futaba to continue.

"Just a little before Mom died…" Futaba replied, rubbing her arm and looking down timidly. "I whined about wanting to go on a family trip… But she scolded me and said no…"

Shadow Futaba nodded, " _Was that all she said?'_

Futaba now shifted her hands behind her back, looking as if she was reciting a speech from memory. "Mom said, 'I'm too busy right now. I need to finish my cognitive research as soon as possible.'"

" _And what did you do?"_

Futaba felt ashamed to admit it, not even considering that the Shadow probably already knew the entire story. "I threw a tantrum. Told her she thought her research was more important than I was. That's when she scolded me…"

The Shadow now grew more insistent, knowing this was the part that would make or break everything they were trying to do. " _What did she say afterwards? There was more."_

Futaba felt chills crawling across her spine as she struggled to remember. The knowledge she was trying to grasp just outside of her reach. As she finally found what she was looking for, she couldn't help but question if that was even the truth.

"Did she say… 'My research is almost over. Once it's finished, we can go wherever you like,'?" Futaba's eyes slowly widened. What she was saying made so much sense, yet at the same time it made none at all, yet the words continued to flow out of her. "'I'm sorry I've left you alone for so long, Futaba. Please try to understand though. This research is really important. I need to complete it, even if it costs me my life.'"

" _Did she hate you?"_

"She didn't…?" Futaba was still in doubt, yet it felt right to her the more she thought about it. She looked up to the mural before her, noticing something about her mother was changing. She gasped as she realized what it was.

"W-What? She smiled…" Futaba murmured, taken aback as she distantly recalled the actual memory of this happening.

However, before it was fully realized, her head began to pound once again. Futaba found herself kneeling on the ground, desperately grasping at her head and yanking at her hair. "Which is true!?"

" _Your memory is…"_

When Futaba looked up again, her Shadow self was gone. A loud roar was heard in the distance as the room shook. Though it barely sounded like a word, Futaba could tell clear as day what the roar was.

"It's calling me?" She questioned to herself, before heading towards the source of the noise without a moment of hesitation, questioning all the while why this was.

* * *

The Phantom Thieves were all kneeling on the ground. The cognition monster from before doing such a number on them that they were probably lucky to even be alive.

Valiant felt sick as she glanced at all of her friends out of the corner of her eye. She had been knocked flat onto her face, by that giant disturbing creature. The heat of the desert sun outside of the Palace was beating down on all of them, making them all hot and sweaty. Valiant felt that if they didn't finish this battle quickly, it was very likely that she was going to throw up. This wasn't helped by the fact that there was a large scrape across the bridge of her nose, so bad that she could feel blood lightly trailing far enough down her face that she could smell it.

Her companions were all in a similar shape, Skull the only one able to get onto his feet, heaving and panting as he did so. "The hell!? We ain't doin' shit to it!" The crass boy remarked.

Valiant was about to attempt to lift her head and retort, or perhaps offer blind encouragement despite the obvious fact that they were in deep trouble, when Joker and Queen both noticed something emerging from the dust and debris that made them gasp. This caused the others to follow suit, leading to similar reactions.

When Sayori saw Futaba, she honestly thought she would be more surprised. However, the only thing she was surprised at was her own lack of reaction. After all, she should have expected this from past experience, both personal and from patterns. Not to mention, she felt more than a little dizzy from the previous battle, barely able to keep her head up from its now risen position.

"You came into your own cognitive world?" Queen asked, standing up in alarm. The others were less shocked, already having witnessed this once before. Queen had heard the story, but apparently seeing it in person was another thing entirely.

Futaba hummed in response with a slight nod, hands behind her back as she looked at the sorry state the Phantom Thieves of Hearts were now in. She began to step towards them as Mona began to review what had happened the last time.

"If that happens, then…"

He was interrupted by another roar from the flying beast above. The terrifying griffin like beast with a red body and a woman's head, was quite the sight for all that could see it. And Valiant couldn't see it, because she was currently on all fours trying to scramble back onto her feet, but her low health, couple with the exhaustion she was in, was making it very difficult. Mona went over to heal her just as Futaba looked up at the odd monster.

"That's…" She stepped closer to the group, both to get a better look and to be closer to a source of protection, when all of a sudden she crouched low to the ground and began to scream and whine in pain.

Perhaps it was just the delirium and possible fever, but Sayori swore she saw the air around Futaba turn pink, outlines of different, hateful people pointing accusing fingers at her. Futaba hugged herself from her spot on the ground, whimpering a quiet "No" in response to something nobody else could hear.

As the entities of accusing people continued to appear in Sayori's peripheral, Futaba finally was on her hands and knees, bombarded by the cruel voices that now only she could hear. Yusuke was suddenly at Sayori's side, lifting her up off the ground and letting her lean against him as everyone stared at the ginger haired girl in concern.

"It's my fault… It's my fault that Mom…"

"Futaba…" Sayori whimpered, tears starting to leak out of her eyes. Queen crossed the space separating herself from Futaba and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

" **That's right! You killed me!"** the giant monster screeched as the Phantom Thieves whipped around to look at it… or "her".

"Wait!" Fox exclaimed, suddenly jumping. "Is that monster her mother!?"

Valiant finally managed to find her strength and carefully stood up on her own. Fox's surprise had caused a painful jolt to shoot through her left leg. "I-I think so. I guess the face somewhat resembles the picture…"

Mona nodded in confirmation, explaining what this meant… That Futaba's mind had created the cognition based off of her distorted desires and undeserved guilt.

The monstrous beast began to scream and rage, further fueling Futaba's tense and pained state. " **You are nothing but a demon who stood in my way! I wish you had never been born! That way I could have announced my results without having to waste my time on you! I poured my heart and soul into that research! It would've been the discovery of the century!"**

"What does she mean by that?" Queen asked, still trying to comfort Futaba.

"Could she be talking about cognitive psience?" Mona guessed.

 _This is too hard to believe that someone would care so much about their research… In such a blatant way at least… Especially since Futaba cares so much about her mother, enough to wish she were alive again… Is this that feeling I've been getting?_ Sayori thought to herself as she glanced back at Futaba. It was like placing a filter over her eyes. The world around Futaba was now a deep magenta, the number of shadowy looking people surrounding her continuing to increase, most likely drowning out the comforting words Queen was trying to say

" **You're going to die! There's no meaning to your life! No one needs you!"** The cognition continued, and to everyone's horror, Futaba began to repeat it.

"Nobody cares about me…"

"Futaba, don't listen to her! She's lying!" Valiant shouted, stumbling over to the girl haphazardly. "We all care about you! I care about you! Even somebody you've never met cares enough about you to let you have something he's treasured!" The black clad thief reached for her pocket, only to remember that the poem she was looking for was in the pocket of her regular clothes.

Nobody could hear the voices repeating in Futaba's head, and nobody except Sayori could see the layers upon layers of distortions surrounding her. Yet everyone remained eerily quiet as they did their best to comfort her from the outside. Soon enough, the distortions all became the same woman currently flying in the sky, reaching out for her daughter like some wicked witch in a fairy tale.

"Hey, we're gonna be in deep shit if this keeps up!" Skull warned.

"So because she thinks she killed her mother… and because she thinks she deserves to die… Futaba gave birth to a Palace where her mother wants her dead?" Queen said, trying to put these horrible facts into some sensible order, trying to find a solution amidst the madness.

Panther tried to get through to Futaba next as the girl began to writhe more frequently. "Futaba-chan, look! There's no way that monster is your mother! It's just an illusion you created!"

"B-But…"

"Futaba, please! It's not real!" Valiant shouted. "Nothing is real… in here," she caught herself just in time.

"She never abused you, did she!?" Queen questioned, trying to remain calm. "Boss told us! He said she did her best to raise you alone!"

"Isn't this a false memory that's been imprinted upon you?" Fox asked.

"A false memory?" Futaba asked herself, seeming to recall something, before grunting in pain. "M-Mom… I-I…"

Before things could go any farther, a familiar face floated into existence, landing on the ground. Futaba's Shadow now had the reigns, deciding that whatever these visions of people were, she had had enough of them. " _Futaba Sakura! Remember!"_

What happened next was for Futaba's eyes and ears alone. It was her awakening, so Valiant found herself looking away from the disappearing images of people, as her Shadow stood before her. There was tightness in Valiant's throat, knowing exactly what was about to happen. There was pride welling up inside her, making her feel warm and fuzzy on the inside, yet strong all the same.

Suddenly the girl slowly rose to her feet, declaration building in her throat.

"Futaba-chan?" Panther asked in concern.

Futaba grabbed at her head and began to groan in pain once again, and for a second everyone was concerned that whatever her Shadow had done hadn't worked.

"That's right," Futaba mumbled in response to something. "I knew, but I…"

Cognitive Wakaba once again tried to intervene. However, it fell on deaf ears as everyone else seemed far more concerned with Futaba. The blast of wind the beast sent their way blew them all back, something no one was prepared for, but Futaba stood defiantly against the powerful wind.

"I won't let those distorted lies deceive me anymore…And I won't be led astray by other's voices either… I'm going to trust my own eyes and my own heart to distinguish the truth from the lies." She glared furiously at the cognition before her. "There's no way you're my mom! You're just a fake created by those horrid adults!"

"I'll… I'll never… I'll never forgive them!" Futaba Sakura finally screamed. Her Shadow emerged and began to change and shift into a small glowing green device, resembling a UFO with a stone gargoyle on top. Alien-like tentacles slithered out of it and latched onto Futaba's limbs, lifting her up into the craft. The girl seemed completely at ease as this happened, so Valiant forced her heart, which was racing with worry, to relax.

Yet at the same time, a chill caused her to shiver, despite the desert heat. Once again, the noble-themed thief's instincts were sounding warning bells in her head.

However, she didn't have time to dwell on it, for they soon received confirmation that Futaba was fine inside her new Persona. With that, their battle with the Cognitive of Wakaba Isshiki resumed.

* * *

The force of the wind was enough to knock him all the way back to the bottom of the pyramid, yet Goro Akechi found himself unwilling to give up. It didn't matter how many bumps and scrapes and broken bones he could receive, he knew in his heart that he needed to get up there!

It was one of the few times in his life Goro could listen to his inner voice and completely trust it. He could see the beast attacking the Phantom Thieves from where he stood at the bottom of the pyramid. It was disturbing to look at, with the body being that of a barely defined flying lion with large eagle wings, and the head being a highly detailed face of a woman all too familiar to him. Goro Akechi had, after all, been staring at this ghost's face a lot these past few weeks.

The detective took a few deep breaths, in through his nose, and out through his mouth. He had seen the beast dive at the top of the pyramid earlier, and had nearly had a panic attack when he realized that that was definitely where Sayori and her group of friends was located.

When he had calmed down enough, he once again began to walk up the clay bricks of the pyramid. He had tried more often than he should have to walk up them like steps, but the heavy wind that the creature's wings produced had him grasping desperately at the bricks each time. More often than not, he would be unable to grab hold on time, and go tumbling right back to where he started, just like that stupidly determined spider from that nursery rhyme one of his foster parents had sang to him once. _Ugh._ Those people seemed to think the terrible fate that had befallen his mother, and himself by extension, was hilarious, and had mocked him constantly for it.

 _Incompetant fools… They didn't even know how to raise their own kids,_ he thought grimly to himself. It was a desperate distraction as he looked up at the monster woman's head above him and noticed features of it that he hadn't noticed in the case file. It disturbed him more than anything how those features seemed so familiar to him, and yet he couldn't figure out why. He hadn't been close enough to her when he had killed her, having shot her from a distance.

 _There's no reason to think about that now,_ Akechi tried to convince himself. _Just get to the top of this stupid pyramid and make sure your clumsy girlfriend hasn't gotten herself maimed…_

He really was a good liar. He was able to convince himself that his recognition of Wakaba Isshiki wasn't important, right up until the moment a giant arrow shot out from the top of the pyramid, hitting the griffin center mass. She fell on top of the pyramid, and Goro heard the sounds of combat from above as the Phantom Thieves began to attack.

Unfortunately, the rest of her body fell right where Goro was trying to climb up, trapping him underneath. He had room enough to breathe and look up, seeing her huge, weakened yet angry face breathing down on him.

Despite being lucky enough to not be crushed, Goro hardly felt concerned about that. The monster finally seemed to recover from being knocked out of the sky, flapping her massive wings and creating a mighty wind. If he hadn't been shielded by her body, the detective once again would have been knocked to the ground.

Right as she was about to lift off her from the ground again, her huge black, veiny eyes swivelled around and fell upon Goro briefly, for a moment looking like a stern woman merely scrutinizing him, if not for her massive size. The detective felt himself involuntarily curling in on himself, wishing he could hide behind his mother's long skirt as the large woman inspected him with the same judging eyes that everyone else always directed towards him, just like all those years ago…

And that's when it hit him, knocking his head loose and spilling out his insides as realization filled him.

 _Oh… Oh God it can't be… This is… Wakaba Isshiki is…_

The griffin shrieked again and took to the skies, leaving the stunned detective curled up and trembling, trying to process the truth that he had finally been able to remember.

* * *

Valiant smiled as the first arrow from the ballista met its mark, knocking Cognitive Wakaba out of the sky and in perfect range for an attack. "Good job, Panther!" Valiant called out, the red clad thief giving her a thumbs up from behind the ballista before running to join them in their assault.

They went all in, attacking with all of the weapons they had on hand. Guns, swords and shields, and Personas were all utilized, Futaba giving helpful boosts whenever the griffin tried to attack them. With these skills, the Phantom Thieves quickly launched an All-Out-Attack, dealing damage to the griffin, causing it to retreat back into the sky.

 _At the rate we're going, we'll probably only need to shoot her down one or two more times,_ Valiant thought optimistically. When it was her turn again, she quickly healed her comrades of their injuries, her own having gone numb thanks to Mona. Next, her intended move would be to put up a nice shield to protect them, but Futaba was already handling that for her.

It was just in time, for Cognitive Wakaba decided to release a loud scream, much more powerful than all of her others, forming a powerful vortex that could have blown them into oblivion. When that didn't work, the beast swiped its giant clawed paw across the top of the pyramid. When that barely did anything, the Cognitive began to circle around them, hostile.

Panther once again went to control the ballista, and the cycle repeated itself all over again. The Cognitive seemed to be getting dizzy, for its eyes rolled around in its head as the group continued their attack.

"We're so close!" Panther said in celebration as she jumped away from the beast, letting Mona jump in after her.

"And then the Treasure is all ours," The cat creature said dreamily.

The Phantom Thieves had brought the monster's health down to nearly zero, and were about to finish her off with one big final attack. As if in one last ditch attempt to preserve itself, it began to speak.

" **Futaba… Futaba… If only I had never birthed you!"**

"No matter what you say to me…" Futaba began, sounding almost downcast, but determined nevertheless, "I will live!" She quickly gave the last command to attack, Joker happy to oblige as he shot his gun directly into the monster's face. Cognitive Wakaba disintegrated into nothingness as she fell off the pyramid's surface.

* * *

"Futaba!" Queen shouted, running over to the orange haired girl now dressed in her own thief attire. A pair of goggles obscured her face, making it slightly difficult to read her expression, though it was obvious to everyone that she would be tired.

"Damn, you're freakin' incredible!" Skull remarked.

"That was so amazing, Futaba!" Sayori exclaimed, stars in her eyes as she bent down to congratulate the girl on her victory.

Instead, Futaba dusted herself off and stood on her own, only then noticing her new outfit. "What in the world? Ooh! It's totally skin tight!" She continued as she patted herself down.

A sudden flash drew everyone's attention to the other side of the floor. Materializing out of nowhere was a faded looking woman, who was very familiar to the group. However, unlike a few minutes ago, she was normal sized and had a human body. The Phantom Thieves were cautious at first, wondering if they would have to fight her too. However, it was soon revealed they had nothing to fear.

"Mom!?" Futaba said in alarm, wondering what was going on. The other Phantom Thieves were just as confused, mumbling to themselves in confusion.

" _Futaba. Thank you for choosing to remember the real me,"_ The ghostly woman smiled at her daughter.

Valiant felt something in her hearts pinch as she watched mother and daughter exchanging their last words. Chances were, Sayori didn't have any parents to remember in the first place, but she knew this wasn't envy doing this to her. Perhaps it was relief making her feel this way, because they had finally helped this girl. However, not even that seemed quite right.

Futaba and her mother parted ways, knowing that Futaba had somewhere she needed to be. They said their "I love you"s, and with barely two sentences edgewise towards the Phantom Thieves, Futaba Sakura left her Palace to go back home, leaving them to steal her treasure.

Or so they thought.

* * *

" _Thank you for this, Wakaba. We really needed this money, especially since my last job…" The woman trailed off, shaking her head in anguish, not wanting to relive that experience._

" _It wasn't any problem at all. After all, what are friends, and old college roommates, for?" The tall, black haired woman replied as she took a small sip of her coffee._

" _I just wish there was some way I could repay you…"_

" _Don't worry about it. I did this because I wanted to. Single mothers should also stick together, in my opinion," Wakaba brushed it off, before a thought suddenly occurred to her. "There's an opening for a job at the daycare my daughter goes to. Perhaps you could try that next?"_

 _The woman seemed startled, before she stared sadly down into her own cup. "I don't think that would work out. Don't people need a degree in child care or something to work at a place like that?"_

" _I suppose you're right," Wakaba sighed. "I still think it would be a good idea for you to try finishing school. It would be expensive, but better in the long run."_

" _I'm already swimming in enough debt at is it. And unlike before, I wouldn't be going on the generosity of my parents…"_

 _Wakaba rolled her eyes, having heard this before. "Yes, your parents were very generous, leaving you all alone in a foreign country to fend for yourself and your small son."_

" _Where is my small son, anyway…" The woman trailed off. She got up and began to walk around the small room, peeking around corners and behind curtains. Wakaba smiled, knowing the one she was looking for was hidden under the very table they sat at, and that they both knew that was where he was hiding._

 _Finally, after a few minutes of her looking around, a small giggle could be heard from under the table. In one swift motion, Goro Akechi was whisked out from underneath the table and into the arms of his mother, who swung him around and began to tickle him mercilessly._

 _Wakaba said nothing as she watched this exchange, choosing to instead finish her cup of coffee. It was very obvious that this had happened because the woman before her wanted to change the subject, despite that subject being very important to discuss. Yet at the same time, Wakaba wouldn't object, because her friend needed all the happiness she could get in a cruel world that had left her behind a long time ago._

 _When the boy had finally settled down enough, the woman set him down on the floor. "Goro, I would like you to meet a friend of mine…" She raised a hand and gestured to Wakaba, who set her cup down and stood up, walking over to the boy with what she hoped looked like a kind smile._

 _Perhaps it wasn't, or perhaps Goro was simply intimidated by the first person to visit the small apartment in… well, ever, because he was quick to resume hiding, but this time behind his mother. His hands grasped tightly around the woman's skirt, looking like he wanted to find a hole and burrow himself deep into it._

" _I don't bite…" Wakaba said, smiling softly. She got on her knees so she was at Goro's level. "You remind me of my daughter. She's shy too."_

* * *

Goro sat at the base of the pyramid, rubbing his head as pain swept through his entire body. Everything hurt, from his feet to the top of his head. It felt like even his soul hurt as he tried to process the information going through his head. It hurt more than anything he had ever gone through, and he knew there were few things that could ever hurt more.

 _How… How did I not realize this sooner?_ He thought to himself, rising on trembling legs. He quietly went to the pile of rocks where his bike was hidden, knowing he was probably about to get sick, and not wanting to be there in case the Phantom Thieves suddenly appeared.

His mind was erratic, trying to find a solution to the problem he was now faced with. In the past, he would have simply tried to forget and move past the burden of his crimes, but now that he had finally remembered the truth, _everything_ was coming back to him in visceral detail. It didn't feel possible at first, but as he sat there, leaned against a boulder with his head looking up at the bright desert sky, the truth settled in him with a migraine as punishment. Now there was only one question left to ask.

 _What are you going to do now?_

He was already too deep into the Conspiracy to hope for a way out. Though at the same time, he probably wouldn't mind simply dying at this point. But then there was still the matter of Shido…

Just the thought of that man caused anger to course through him, but he wasn't thinking about revenge at the same time as thinking about him, which was rare. No, Goro was thinking that if he ended up dying with things this way, it would be very easy for Shido to pin all of his crimes on him.

And then what would happen to Sayori? She would probably be publicly scorned, and put through the same public torment his mother had gone through, and that could lead to one of the worst outcomes he could imagine for her. Goro gulped and looked over the rock, seeing a number of blurry figures carrying what looked like a large box. One of them was an unknowing Sayori, innocent and undeserving of the consequences of his decisions. Even if Shido didn't pin the crimes on him, he would most certainly be killed, leaving Sayori abandoned and stranded.

But at the same time, the thought of continuing on with his plans like nothing had happened made Goro's skin crawl with disgust. He couldn't keep this up, because in some way or another, he was going to die. And the only reason that sounded so unappealing now was because now there would be someone to miss him…

Or would Sayori even miss him, if she found out? His heart hurt at that question, but it was something he inevitably had to ask himself.

 _If I can't escape this situation entirely, than I have to at least find another way to complete my plans… my goal I've had for so long…_ He had worked too long and too hard to ever be able to completely abandon the idea of revenge. That was the sad reality of this situation.

If he completely abandoned the idea, than his mother's friend would have been killed for nothing other than to further Shido's agenda.

Goro Akechi had found himself between a rock and a hard place. It was clear now that the path he had taken led to a dead end, with no escape currently in sight.

The thought caused him to tremble even harder than before, or maybe that was the shaking of the Earth as the Palace began to collapse…

 _Shit!_ Goro grabbed the handles of his bike and swung himself onto it, quickly riding it away from the crumbling pyramid. At the same time, he began heading in the opposite direction the Phantom Thieves were going, hoping he was unseen. After a few minutes of absolute terror, trying to navigate his way through the falling debris, he began to feel the dizzying feeling of the cognitive world fading away and being replaced with the sounds, smells, and sights of reality.

 _I want a way out…_

* * *

The Palace trembled violently under her feet, but Valiant kept running. Soon it would be completely gone, and the Phantom Thieves needed to be out of there before that happened.

There had been no Treasure, except Futaba herself. Once she had left them to their business, the Palace had begun to break down the second they opened the coffin lid to find nothing in there.

 _So perhaps I was right, and there would have been a corpse in there_ … Valiant thought to herself idly, nearly tripping over one of the pyramid stones they were running down. Thankfully, Queen noticed in time and grabbed her arm, steadying the pink haired girl before purposefully dragging her behind her.

"Mona, turn into a car already!" Panther shouted. When the cat creature failed to do that after five seconds, the blonde model grabbed him and threw him high into the air.

Mona landed on the flat ground, now fully transformed and way ahead of his teammates. The rest of the Phantom Thieves hurried to catch up, the sounds of destruction of the collapsing pyramid roiling in their ears. At the last second it seemed to push them forward and they all lunged for the Monabus. A hole appeared in the back of the vehicle and sucked them in.

Before Valiant was completely sucked she noticed something in the distance. It was a bright glaring light, perhaps the desert sun reflecting off of something. And this light was _moving_. Valiant wondered what it could possibly be as she crashed against the backseat, being jostled around as Queen began to haphazardly navigate and swerve through the large square boulders that fell around them. These boulders immediately seemed to dissolve into pixels when they hit the ground, making more room yet doing quite a job at distracting the driver.

 _That light… That glare of light was moving. Could it have been another vehicle with light reflecting off of it? No, a car would be too big for me to not see anything other than a glare…_ Valiant thought hard to herself, wishing she could stand back up and check, yet she was unable to, being slammed into the sides of the cat-vehicle every few seconds.

 _So something smaller than a car would be a… Oh!_ Sayori's eyes widened in shock as the cognitive world bled away. It was hard to feel anything other than surprise, as her head crashed into the ground and reopened the scab on her nose, along with all of the other injuries on her body that hadn't been healed before the Palace collapsed. She supposed she also felt pain, but she knew right at that moment suspicion should have been at the forefront of her mind.

They had landed right at the doors of Leblanc, a surprised Sojiro finding them outside. The group attempted to explain themselves, Makoto quickly distracting Boss by suggesting everyone get coffee.

"I'm not thirsty though," Yusuke said, not getting it. Makoto walked over and punched him in the arm, causing him to grunt in pain.

"We could get something else instead," Sayori suggested, knowing she had been banned from ever having coffee by Goro, Akira, and basically everyone. This included herself. Everyone nodded in agreement, except for Makoto, who politely excused herself, saying she had important business to attend to.

Everyone except Makoto, Akira, Morgana and Sayori went inside Leblanc. The pink haired girl had suddenly remembered something, checking her pocket to make sure it was still there. Sighing with relief, she looked over to Makoto and Akira.

"Is it okay if I go with you guys to check on Futaba? There's something I need to give her… in person,"she said, remembering her promise to Goro.

"Of course," Makoto replied with a blank look, confused about what she might be talking about.

"Let's go," Akira added seriously. The other three nodded and followed him to Sojiro's house.

* * *

Everyone looked on in thoughtfulness as Futaba slumbered. Sojiro had explained that she got burnt out every so often, reassuring everyone that she would be alright. However, that still left one big concern to be addressed. The only thing they could do was wait and hope that Futaba would pull through and take care of Medjed for them.

After a little while of watching her sleeping peacefully, one by one everyone left the dirty bedroom. Akira and Morgana were the last ones left, looking curiously at the piece of folded paper Sayori had left before going back to her home.

"What do you think it says?" Morgana asked, poking at the paper with a paw.

"We shouldn't pry," Akira said, lightly scolding the cat. "Sayori said it was for Futaba's eyes only."

"I know…" Morgana sighed. "I bet it's another poem. I wish I could get a poem from Sayori. Everyone is always complimenting her on them after all."

"You could just ask…"

"But that's not the same as her giving it as a gift! I wonder if Lady Ann knows how to write poems…"

Akira sighed at his cat with a crush, before turning and leaving the room. It would be the first day of summer vacation that he had free, and he wanted to make the most of it by getting things together the night before. After all, he and Sayori had to plan a get together, with Goro Akechi invited as well.

Morgana followed the human, turning curiously towards the poem one last time before leaving too.

A few hours later, Futaba would wake up for long enough to notice the note and quickly read it.

" _Plum Blossom's Lament"_

 _A strand of wild plum blossom blooms on the side of an abandoned broken bridge,_

 _The wild blossom bloomed in sorrow and loneliness…_

… _with no one to nurture, care for her, and no one to appreciate her unique beauty._

 _The lonely plum blossom…_

 _emerges and perishes by itself…_

 _The plum blossom cries alone under the fading dusk,_

 _The heavy cold rain and cruel wind strike on her fragile, delicate petals,_

 _She never thought about competing her beauty with other flowers,_

 _But others hate and hurt her out of jealousy and discrimination._

 _In the end, all of her beautiful petals have been crushed into mud and dust,_

 _All that is left of her in this world,_

 _Is her scattered fragrance…_

Futaba blinked twice at the paper. _What a weird poem_ , she thought to herself, before promptly shutting her eyes and going back to sleep.

* * *

Sayori collapsed on the couch, the exhaustion from the day's activities having done quite a number on her. The apartment could have been mistaken for empty, if not for the fact that she could hear sounds from behind Goro's closed bedroom door. She wondered quietly to herself what he might be doing, and got up to knock on his door, too tired to be stressed about her thoughts from earlier.

She was right in front of the door, reaching up a fist to knock, when it was flung open itself. Thankfully it opened from the inside, so Sayori wasn't nailed in the face by the wooden door. What did nail her in the face, however, was the state she found Goro in.

"Why are you crying!?" Sayori asked, immediately closing the gap between them and reaching up to wipe at the offending red tear tracks on her boyfriend's face.

"I-It's nothing…"The detective said with a sniff, gently removing the girl's hands from the side of his face. "It's just allergies."

Sayori frowned as Goro refused to meet her eyes, not buying the excuse for a second. "I don't think so! Tell me what's going on so I can help."

Goro sniffed again, rubbing the palm of his hand over his face, attempting to get rid of the evidence that he had been ugly-crying less than a minute ago. "There's nothing you can do to help…"

"Oh yeah!?" Sayori asked with a smirk, accepting the unintentional challenge. She quickly, but also gently, grabbed his chin and turned him to face her, intent on showering him with all of the love and affection she had in her, which was a lot, when she was interrupted by a gasp.

"Sayori, your face!"

"Eh?" Sayori didn't know what Goro was talking about for a second. She put a hand up to her own face, wondering if there was something in her teeth, when all of a sudden she remembered. There was a big scab across her nose that had reopened half an hour ago. She inhaled through her nose and yes, she smelled blood.

Her eyes lit up in realization, prompting the detective to continue. "How did you get this?"

"I fell," Sayori replied simply. In actuality, she had been swatted at by a giant paw, the Cognitive Wakaba having batted at her like a cat toy.

"Uh huh, of course you were," Goro replied before releasing a heavy sigh and looking up towards the ceiling, as if asking the God of ceiling fans for patience. "Follow me so I can get you patched up."

 _At least he isn't crying anymore,_ Sayori thought to herself, closing her eyes in relief. This was interrupted when she failed to follow the detective into the bathroom, prompting him to go back to her and grab her by the arm, dragging her to the bathroom himself.

"What am I going to do…" he said with a sigh as he began disinfecting the wound, lightly dabbing at it with a cloth.

Sayori smiled, despite the stinging pain she now felt. "'What are you going to do with me,' you mean?"

"No, it's… Yeah, that's exactly what I meant," Goro replied, looking down at the floor with a tired look in his eyes and a heavy frown. He went back to the sparse medicine cabinet, coming back with gauze and a bright yellow bandaid.

He placed the gauze over the scab, which was thankfully not as bad as when Sayori first got it, thanks to Morgana. When it was covering the wound well enough, he placed the bandaid right over it and used the sticky sides to hold the gauze in place. "All done…"

Sayori smiled even wider as she stared gazed at the kneeling detective. Before he had a chance to get up, she leaned down and kissed him on the nose. "All better," She said with a giggle, springing up from her spot on the toilet seat. She went over to the bathroom mirror, leaving the blushing detective in his place.

"This kind of reminds me of one of the Harajuku people I see walking down the street," Sayori said as she pointed at the bandaid. "Goro, do you think I'd make a good Harajuku girl?"

Goro looked up at her, his face still a light red as he tried to envision the girl bedecked in colorful pins and accessories. This only made his blushing worse as he thought harder about it, looking down and shielding his face. "It depends on what style you're going for. Decora Kei would definitely suit you."

"It would, wouldn't it?" Sayori replied in agreement, looking back at herself in the mirror.

"You're paying for it if you're seriously thinking about committing to that style!"

"I know!," Sayori defended. "Though that seems difficult to maintain, so probably not…" Her grin finally seemed to be getting contagious, because Goro finally smiled back at her and got up from his seat on the floor.

"Still, one thing you should definitely take from that style is that everyone is always smiling," the detective mused. "Because if my smile is 'cute', then yours is radiant."

Sayori blushed now, feeling her insides turning to much as Goro finally walked up to her. In only seconds he had enveloped her in a tight hug, and she was startled to find that instead of the usual scent of cologne, the musk of sweat filled Sayori's nostrils.

 _That's odd,_ Sayori thought to herself, returning the hug and burying her face in his chest. She felt him rest his chin on the top of her head and begin stroking her hair, releasing a sigh of relief.

"I've missed you…" Goro murmured.

"I've missed you too…" Sayori replied. "But I'm finally free now, so everything is good." _Or at least I hope it is…_

Sayori was still very much worried about her bad habit of disappearing from existence, it had only stopped barely a week ago, right when they had entered Futaba's Palace. At the moment, all she could hope for was that the universe had dealt her a better hand now so she could enjoy the rest of her time here.

* * *

Futaba's deep sleep was not dreamless. In her head, she was remembering the sensation of awakening, and the dizzying lights that had revealed themselves to her in her Persona. The flashing words and numbers had gone by as fast as a spring breeze, and she gathered it all in her head.

She had found out something interesting this way. Aside from the Phantom Thieves that had been on the roof, there had been other entities like them in other areas of the Palace. She hadn't been able to tell at that time who they were, but she knew there were at least two.

And another thing, Futaba had noticed something different about Sayori when she had looked at her in that UFO, analyzing her as she hacked into her own cognition. She didn't know how or why, or even what this meant for Sayori, but upon analyzing her, she had discovered something very interesting indeed, listed right by her name.

" "

 _I'll have to tell Sayori about it… When I wake up…_

* * *

 _He was in a dark, cold room that reeked of blood and tears. Iron bars were in front of him, so thick that he could barely see the three figures on the other side, watching him intently. He tried to move from the bench he was sitting on, only to find himself chained to his seat, metal bonds binding his legs, arms, and body. He craned his neck and found that one was latched under his throat as well, tight enough to make him cough and choke._

 _From out of the corner of his eye he noticed a dark shadowy mass approaching him from inside the cell. He tried to get a better look, only to have a long sword levelled at his throat. It glowed black and violet in the pale light coming from the room outside._

 _Goro Akechi couldn't even say a word as a large hand grasped his chin and lifted his head up, further exposing his throat. In his last seconds, he was barely able to register that the gentle hand belonged to a male before a voice spoke, seeming to come from inside his head, as smooth as honey, yet cold as ice._

" _This is your reward… For your faith in Justice…"_

 _The hand holding the sword was swung back to gain momentum, and then went slicing through the air, going straight towards him._

Goro Akechi woke up from the nightmare, unable to even scream, for he was in so much pain.

It felt as if his very soul had been split in half.

 **Long time no see! As you can tell, this chapter was very long, mainly because after finally getting a laptop, my creative juices were flowing rather strongly. And, since I expected to be about ready for Okumura's Palace by now before my laptop broke, I wanted to make sure I got done with Futaba's Palace in this chapter. What I'd like to happen is that the next two chapters will also be similarly long, covering all of the events before Okumura's Palace. And I also plan on skipping most parts of Okumura's palace except for the absolutely important parts.**

 **Also, some notes about this chapter. The poem I used is one I got from a web comic/manhua called "Phantom Paradise" by Rurisen. (There's also something else from this included in the chapter, if you can spot it). Also, if I ever get fanart of this fanfiction somehow, let it be here known that I would kill for fanart of Sayori and Akechi wearing Harajuku fashion together!**

 **Anyway, I'll probably be back in a couple weeks with the next chapter. Please read, review, and I'll see you all next time!**


	46. Chapter 45

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

A few weeks had passed since the successful theft of Futaba's heart. Since then, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts had been distracting themselves with the lingering stress of Medjed through a whirlwind of activity. Everyday, it seemed, Sayori would be spending time with one of her teammates. This was rather fortunate, because as the date of Medjed's supposed cleanse grew closer and closer, Goro had more and more interviews to attend.

Though Sayori felt the cruel irony of this twist of fate, that Goro was now having to leave her alone for hours of the day, this could also be taken as a stroke of luck. Afterall, she had plans to make if she wanted to achieve her most recent goal for summer. This goal had the potential to make daily life for Sayori much easier, or much more difficult. However, these nerve-wracking possibilities didn't change the fact that in Sayori's mind, this had to be done.

* * *

" _Hey! Are you ready? Makoto, Ryuji, and I are waiting outside your apartment right now!"_

Sayori read Ann's message over with tired eyes. She was in fact, not ready, having only just woken from slumber to the sound of the loud and insistent ringtone on her phone. Looking down at her pink pajamas, Sayori wondered if she could get away with wearing the matching tank top and shorts in public, or if Ann would declare her a crime against fashion.

" _Yeah! I'll be down in a minute. What's Ryuji doing with us though? I thought this was just a shopping trip for us girls?"_

" _Akira and Yusuke apparently are going to be busy all day. Yusuke and his starving artist ways, trying to understand the heart and everything, means that they're going to be busy all day. So that just left Ryuji free without anything to do…"_

" _What about Morgana?"_ Sayori texted back, laughing at herself only a second after pressing the send button.

" _We only have money for swimsuit shopping today. We aren't paying bail because one of their stupid fights got violent. Besides, Morgana is probably with Akira too… Or wandering around doing who knows what…"_

Sayori somehow managed to get herself to look at least half decent, switching out the patterned shorts from her PJ's with a peach colored skirt, which she desperately hoped would look well with the pink polka dots on her white top. If not, Ann would probably march her back up the stairs, forcing Sayori to admit that her shirts were once again becoming too tight around the chest, when Ann tried to pick something else out.

That conversation would be better for a day when none of the boys would be with them. With those worries in mind, Sayori ran her fingers through her hair and hastily tied her bow on, making sure it looked as neat as possible before grabbing the small allowance Goro had left on the table.

He was going to be gone the entire day for this interview, and this would likely become a trend until the date of the cleanse passed. This would only leave ten days of summer. Even then, depending on the results of whatever Futaba was going to do, there could be even more interviews.

And that was why this shopping trip was so important. The Phantom Thieves were once again plotting, but this time it had nothing to do with the Metaverse.

Sayori ran out to the front of the building, an excited smile on her face. Despite the fact that Ann looked almost too eager to pick out swimsuits for everyone, Sayori knew that the end result of this plan (nicknamed "Operation: Get the Stick Out of the Detective's A-" by Ryuji, before Makoto and Ann both smacked him on the back of his head) would lead to a great day, secretly celebrating the Phantom Thieves most recent victory.

"Sayori, school is going to start soon enough," Makoto scolded lightly. "You shouldn't be sleeping in so late."

Ryuji waved the girl's worries away and smiled a rather crooked smile at Sayori. "Just means she's part of the club. 'Sides, when school starts up again Akechi probably makes a good alarm clock. I wonder how you snooze him." The blond waggled his eyebrows.

Sayori blushed and bit back a smile at the joke. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Ryuji."

"Come on, guys," Ann sighed, looking up at the sky in exasperation. "Both of you need swimsuits, so we need to get going."

"Yes," Makoto agreed. "Sayori needs to dress to impress…" The brunette raised her eyebrows, before they settled back into a resting position, and then raising them again.

It took a full minute for anyone to realize what she was trying to do.

"Wait… Makoto, are you tryin' to do this?" Ryuji asked, once again wiggling his eyebrows.

Makoto nodded, squeezing her eyes, embarrassed. "I imagine I didn't do it right, then?"

"It didn't even make sense with what you said," Ryuji said with wide and astonished eyes. It only lasted a moment before a wide grin spread over his face, showing a lot of teeth with it. "Don't worry, I'll make sure Sayori looks impressive to any guy that sees her. Good thing you brought me along, eh?"

Ann, fed up with the conversation at this point, grabbed Sayori by her wrist and Ryuji by his ear, before proceeding down the street, towards the entrance to the underground walkways located a few blocks away. "I think Akechi-kun's taste is different from yours, Ryuji. Now stop it with all of your stupid, perverted comments before you corrupt Makoto and Sayori more than you already _have_!" She yanked particularly hard on Ryuji's ear as she said that, a growl escaping her lips.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Ryuji grumbled as he tried to pull away from the model's tight, cold grasp.

Sayori glanced at Makoto, who strode confidently beside them, not having to be in Ann's grasp, which was becoming more like a child-leash each time they went on these shopping trips. Instead of feeling envious of this, or embarrassed by the stares they were getting as Ann dragged them along and Ryuji loudly protested, Sayori tried to remember what her old sun hat looked like. She would need one like it so Goro wouldn't wonder where the old hat had gone.

Slowly, the rest of the world faded out as Sayori gained a clear picture in her head of what she wanted her new clothes to look like. If only she had money for the camera too…

* * *

On the twenty-first of August, the entire city was in disarray. Nobody could relax with the threat of Medjed's punishment hanging over their heads. The gossip and bickering on the street was loud and insistent, creating a nervous buzz in the air. If one were to listen in on these arguments, they would hear the stubborn groups of people insisting that either the Phantom Thieves would pull through, or that the rambunctious group of delinquents had failed to retaliate. Even then, there was also the smaller groups that were counting on the police to do something.

However, for one group of people, though spread out as they were, they knew that their deal with an introverted hacker had finally paid off.

It was early morning when each member of the Phantom Thieves, sans the cat, received a text from their leader. They all felt relieved, for Futaba Sakura was finally fully awake and working on stopping Medjed.

There was also another person who learned of this fact, yet didn't know how to feel about it.

Out of the corner of his eye, Goro watched from the small kitchen in his apartment, noting the relieved smile that crossed Sayori's face as she looked at her phone. Because of the date, it was easy for the detective to figure out what could be affecting the girl in such a way. He continued to peer for a second, watching as Sayori's posture relaxed on the couch.

He was almost jealous that she could be so carefree. Sayori had been worried for weeks about the unseen threat that was Medjed, and in the rare time that they had gotten to spend time together, he had noticed her glancing at him too, a silent question in her eyes that she didn't dare speak out loud.

However, if he were to put it on a scale, the contents of this question weren't nearly as high on the list of things that currently made Akechi feel like digging a grave and laying himself on it.

 _What will happen in retaliation to their success, and what part will I play in it?_ The detective asked himself, stopping his hand from trembling as he prepared a small breakfast of fruit and tea. Even so, those worries about the future didn't make him nearly as anxious as his worries for the past. Afterall, he knew that in a little cafe not that far away from here, there was a family of victims sharing an anniversary with him.

 _The day I sold myself to the Devil for the sake of revenge… The day I knew there would be no turning back from this choice…_ So why did he suddenly so desperately want to do just that?

Goro shook these thoughts from his head. He hastily poured tea in two cups and arranged the fruit on the accompanying plates. His own anxieties and worries had no business in his head during breakfast. He had the entire walk to the police station and TV studio to think these miserable thoughts.

Sayori was lured to the small table in the kitchen by the scent of the tea. She sat down, took one look at the plum blossom tea, and gave him a deadpan look. "What's on your mind, Goro? I didn't expect you to be nervous… You've never really worried about Medjed before."

Goro felt himself shrink under her gaze. _As always, she's too perceptive for her own good…_ He wasted not a second to straighten up and meet Sayori's inquisitive gaze with a small, shy smile, before picking a piece of fruit and popping it into his mouth. "It's really nothing, Sayori. I guess I'm just nervous about my interview later…"

"You're lying, but alright," Sayori sighed before somberly picking bits of fruit off of her own plate and nibbling at them. "I thought you and I agreed to be more truthful about these things… Neither of us like it when the other is pretending to be fine, afterall…"

 _We have to keep so many secrets from each other, so I suppose it would be foolish to keep things like this in the dark…_ Goro closed his eyes and took a sip of tea, before glancing at Sayori. She was looking at the small window in the kitchen, not paying attention to much else.

"I guess today is just a sad day in general. It brings back bad memories…" Goro said, making sure not to mumble.

Sayori smiled at the admission. "That's better… By the way, I gave my friend that poem of yours. It kind of made me sad to see it go. It was a nice thing to have with me, and I thought about a lot of things when there wasn't much else to do… Like how worried I always feel, but not about the right things…"

Goro hummed in agreement. "I see we're trading truths this morning. I could find a copy of it online if you wanted, but your friend might need the original more."

Sayori smiled and shook her head. "I'll be fine. I have plenty of my own poems…" Now done with the piece of fruit she was nibbling on, she took her own cup of tea and sipped at it, managing to drink half of it in one go.

"You're really thirsty this morning,":the detective observed, bringing bits of peaches up to his mouth. After a couple of bites, he pushed his plate away. He wasn't that hungry today, he found.

"My throat… feels funny," Sayori said, suddenly sounding small.

"Maybe we should get some fresh air then…" Goro thought out loud, before getting up to take his dishes to the sink.

"It is a nice day out," Sayori agreed as she got up to follow suit, though the distracted look in her eyes told Goro that she wasn't really paying attention to that.

The morning passed slowly after that. Both of them were nervous about two very different things. It wasn't until later that evening that one of them was reassured.

Futaba had completed her job, and gone back to sleep right after that.

None of the Phantom Thieves were too shocked by this.

* * *

The day of the long awaited beach trip finally arrived. That morning, everyone woke up with an excited smile, packing their beach bags with swimsuits, towels, and anything else they might need. One look outside their windows told everyone that they'd be needing sunscreen. That is, everyone except Yusuke, who had no sunscreen and no funds to buy sunscreen. He instead had to settle for wearing a white hoodie in order to cover up.

Everyone was prepared, even the unexpected and unknowing guest. It was incredibly lucky on Goro's part that Sayori was dragging him into this day knowingly, packing his bag while he prepared a small lunch, for he assumed that this would be a picnic between the two of them.

Sayori smiled as she finished packing. Everything fit perfectly, except for the large woven hat. Squeezing it in wasn't an option, because it could crush the beautiful flower decorations that clung to the white ribbon around the base with nothing more than glue and pins. She considered simply wearing it herself, but that seemed like no fun…

She frowned and tilted her head, her eyes going wide as she thought of the simple solution of having _another_ person wearing the hat. Sayori turned around and caught Goro's eye, watching with amusement as he proudly held up the basket holding their lunch. He was dressed surprisingly simple, with a faded blue buttoned shirt, and black swim trunks. A pair of shades rested on his head, and brown sandals were strapped to his feet. Sayori's outfit for the day was carefully hidden in the bag, except for the hat that Goro thought he had gotten for her, not knowing that it was an improved copy of the original.

This was why Sayori felt no shame in striding over to him, flapping the hat like a fan, and giving him a sneaky smile, before saying, "You look very handsome today, Goro… But you're missing one thing…"

Goro's eyes widened in confusion. "What would that be?" He set the basket down and looked over himself, leaning his head down and allowing Sayori full access to the top of his head.

Without hesitation, Sayori slipped the hat on his head. "A pretty hat to protect you from the sun, of course. I want you to keep it safe for me until we get to the beach."

The detective looked up in astonishment, before an even more sly look crossed his face. "In that case we'll make a trade…" He slipped the sunglasses off of his forehead and put them over Sayori's eyes, making a point to let his hands linger on the side of her head.

Sayori turned pink, but she smiled softly despite herself. "The hat is all crooked now…" In a show of power, the pink haired girl put her fingers on Goro's chin and brought his face closer to her own. She used the white ribbon fasteners that hung from the inner edge of the brim to tie a neat bow under his chin.

Of course, with their faces so close, one would reasonably think that they were about to share a tender moment. As a mostly reasonable person, this was Goro Akechi's first thought as his face turned a bright red. Sayori wasn't doing anything to convince him otherwise. She let her gaze linger on his, maintaining eye contact with a sparkle in her eyes that was evident even with the shades covering them. In this light, everything looked soft and cute, from her fluffy pink hair to her gentle yet excited smile.

Goro, for the first time in what felt like a long time, was completely enamored by Sayori. Everything had been so busy lately, and he was still wary of who and what he could trust… He had always known that Sayori was sweet, kind, and attractive in her own adorable way, but being able to focus so intently on these things was like discovering them all over again.

He didn't even realize he was leaning in until Sayori, with a wide smile and open smile, snapped into action. She grabbed his hand, hoisted both her bag and the food basket over her shoulder and began running for the apartment door. "We have to hurry! We don't want to be late!"

The wide range of emotions Goro Akechi felt in that moment were overwhelming. He was disappointed, betrayed, sad, and above all else, the cruel sting of rejection hovered over him like smoke. However, there was still the unspoken promise that Sayori was conveying by holding his hand. Her grasp was tight, her thumb rubbing his knuckles, as if she were trying to massage away the stress and tension that she knew he felt. She looked back at him and smiled sweetly, winking (or perhaps blinking… It was hard to tell from that angle).

Goro felt relieved and happy by this, so much so that he almost didn't process what she had said.

"Wait… What do you mean by, 'we'll be late?'"

* * *

The beach was bright and full of life. The yellow sand, rolling waves, and clear skies were the ideal conditions, resulting in many visitors. Clad in swimsuits, couples, families, and friends all roamed the beach. Taking advantage of this, vendors strategically placed themselves all around, hoping to make a profit, selling ice cream, meals, and souvenirs.

One such group was waiting by the dressing room, not only being kept waiting by the three girls in the changing room, but also by the two late arrivals. The black cat was the first to notice the pink blur dragging a certain staggering detective behind her. Morgana's ears pricked and he tensed up slightly, turning sharply towards his comrades and shouting, "They're coming! From this point forward none of you mention anything about being Phantom Thieves, or anything that could lead to talking about the Phantom Thieves. I'm looking at you, Ryuji!"

The blond sighed in exasperation. "He'll prolly end up talking about them anyway. Unless Sayori is distractin' him, that's all he seems to know how to talk about." Ryuji grumbled something else under his breath.

"You know we're here to try to be friends with the guy. Right, Ryuji?" Ann asked as she stepped out of the large wooden building. She adjusted her bikini, making sure there was no area that pinched.

"Ignore him if he starts acting like a jerk, but remember that we're doing this for Sayori," Makoto added, adjusting the skirt attached to her own bikini bottoms. "We trust her, don't we? Sayori said this would be a good way to keep him from suspecting us… She even went as far as saying that even if he does get suspicious, being closer to him could create a conflict of interest-"

"Pipe down!" Morgana yelled again, arching his back slightly. Sayori and Goro were so close now that the group could almost make out the finer details of the two. This was how Ann could clearly see Goro's eyes widening in shock, his mouth forming a near perfect "o."

"We're here!" Sayori shouted, raising her arms excitedly and causing her companion to stumble. "I hope we weren't too late. The two of us have been looking forward to this, afterall…"

The detective continued to gawk as his brain tried to catch up with the situation. Sayori smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her leg with her foot.

Akira smirked, jabbing a thumb in the direction of the changing area. "You're right on time. I'd hurry up and get dressed though."

Sayori nodded in response, putting the food basket on her shoulder into Goro's frozen hands.

"Could you check on Futaba, by the way? She hasn't finished getting dressed and Sojiro said to not let her out of my sight…" Akira ran a hand through his hair shyly.

"Sure. I'll help if she needs it," Sayori replied. She turned and was about to make her way into the changing area when Goro suddenly reached out and took her hand, holding it tightly to make it less obvious that his arm was trembling.

"You said we were going on a picnic…"

Sayori smiled calmly, reaching up and adjusting the hat on Goro's head to hide his eyes from view. "We still are…I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but I wanted it to be a surprise." The girl winked at him, confident in herself and her scheme. "Afterall, you said you wanted to meet my friends…"

Without another word, Sayori entered the changing area.

Goro swallowed down the bitterness that he was deceived so easily. He should have known… He should have figured it out. Then at least he could have been prepared.

But now he was in the lion's den. The lions that were in it were sleeping… calm, but one wrong step and he would be in trouble. Any tricks he had learned on TV wouldn't help him at all, as the Phantom Thieves were impervious to his charms. Goro felt his mind race with all of these worries, even as he straightened up and offered the group of teens next to him a smile.

Ryuji Sakamoto crossed his arms. Makoto Niijima coughed awkwardly and looked away. Yusuke Kitagawa offered him a polite nod, before turning away to look at the beach's scenery, in the process whipping away and refusing to make eye contact. Ann Takamaki gave him an awkward wave, giving him a trembly smile that had trouble staying there.

There was a sudden thumping sensation at Goro's legs. He looked down to find the group's black cat glaring rather fiercely.

"My eyes are down here," it said, and Goro Akechi had to do everything in his power not to respond. Instead he simply offered the cat a smile and looked back up towards the others.

The only one who gave him an even slightly realistic friendly reaction was Akira. The black haired boy smiled, somehow able to make it reach his eyes, despite obviously being just as tense and awkward as everyone else.

"So…" Akira began. "You thought you were going on a picnic?"

"Yes," Akechi replied, before looking at the basket with regret. "Though I apologize because I only packed enough for Sayori and I."

"That's fine," Ann said, almost too quickly. "We all brought money for ourselves, or prepacked anyway."

"Yeah. I may not know the feeling personally, but feel free to find a more private spot if you two want to…" Ryuji trailed off awkwardly, before sighing in disappointment, as though he simply didn't have the energy to finish his sentence.

"If it makes you uncomfortable, I could leave…" Goro immediately offered, feeling his throat become tight at the thought.

"Absolutely not!" Yusuke suddenly exclaimed, sweeping his hand in front of him in a dramatic gesture.

Goro found himself stumbling back in surprise. "Why is that?" He asked, gripping the hat on his head.

"Well, it's simple," Makoto suddenly piped up. "Ann and Yusuke spent a lot of time and money trying to matchmake the two of you. I know the people around here may cause you to present yourself a certain way, Akechi-kun… But I'd still like to observe things for myself…" The brown-haired girl took a step forward and locked her gaze onto the detective's face, the intensity burning through him and setting his brain ablaze with a silent panic.

"Afterall, Sayori may not be the good girl type of pushover, but I want to be there for her when I can." Makoto stepped back, her icy voice fading into nothing more than a lingering memory. She smiled sweetly before grabbing a drink from the cooler they had brought with them.

Goro Akechi had been no match for Makoto's silver tongue, and he could only stand there in silence as he wondered what the group would do next. The Phantom Thieves looked between the two, Ann Takamaki opening her mouth to ask a question to Makoto.

However, the brown haired girl shook her head as she popped a straw through the plastic seal of the plastic juice box. "I'm willing to forget about anything that's happened before this point. Besides, for the most part… I'm over that little jab, and I'm not tearing that wound open when Sayori comes back…" Makoto took a thoughtful sip from her juicebox, before glancing once more at the detective.

"Akechi-kun, use this chance wisely…"

After a tense moment of silence, Yusuke sighed and shook his head. "That wasn't what I meant at all… I was simply hoping I'd find a perfect moment to capture on canvas…"

* * *

Sayori could clearly hear the conversation going on outside, and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't bothered by it. These were the issues she had wanted to have a serious discussion about later, when everyone was more welcoming of each other. It would be much easier for everyone to discuss their problems with one another and apologize for them, and maybe come up with a reasonable consequence for those who had caused the problems.

Releasing a quiet moan of despair at the horrible start of her plan, Sayori went into a stall and began to change. She quickly replaced her plain clothes for her swimsuit, adjusting the straps and sleeves on her shoulder and spreading the skirt out.

Now for the difficult part…

Sayori grabbed the yellow ribbons on either side of her waist and reached behind her back. For a couple minutes, she struggled and flailed to make something decent, eventually even trying to look at her back, but the effort was futile. No matter how hard she tried, Sayori couldn't tie a bow.

With a frustrated grunt, Sayori pulled on the ends of the ribbon to try again, but the knot on her back would not come undone. So instead, she grabbed the loops in an attempt to untie it that way, but all she accomplished was making the lopsided knot tighter.

Sayori wheezed, beginning to panic despite the fact that there was barely any danger. She could still breathe easily, but the frustration inside her was welling up, making it difficult to look at the situation with even half of her normal amount of common sense.

After a few seconds, she heard an incoherent mumble, and all of a sudden there was another pair of hands working away at the tangle of ribbon Sayori had created.

"How'd ya d'this?"

"Futaba-chan?" Sayori asked, looking in a nearby mirror to see the girl's head was covered in a white cloth, making the younger girl's words impossible to understand.

Futaba grumbled, sticking her fingers into a newly formed loop and using it to collapse the knot. "Who y'thing? Wi' diggy?"

Sayori's nose wrinkled. "Futaba, why are you covering your face like that? Nobody will be able to understand you…" The pink haired girl took the ribbons in her hands once again, looping them around her back and bringing the ends to the front, making a much better bow this time.

Before Sayori could say anything else, Futaba made her way to the small building's even smaller exit, stumbling out for everyone to see her head, wrapped up like a mummy's. Sayori took the sunglasses off of her face and clipped them onto the front of her new swimsuit, intending to trade them when she left. However, for now she was more focused on applying sunscreen.

* * *

"What do you guys think?" Sayori asked, a giddy smile on her face. She was unable to help herself, twirling around a bit and letting the skirt fan out around her.

Yusuke, Akira, and Morgana looked at the girl in shock, their eyes wide. Makoto and Ann high fived each other from their spot beside Futaba, where they were currently trying to unwrap the fabric from the hacker's head.

"She looks like a flower girl," Futaba physically pointed out, gesturing to the girl with an excited hand.

Ann eyes narrowed, "For some reason, she doesn't quite look how I imagined. She looks more like Marilyn Monroe…" The blonde put one hand on her hip and the other on the side of her head, looking around the beach, and then back at the girl, wondering what about the image in front of her made it so.

"Yeah… Something's missing," Ryuji said, before quickly spotting the abnormality. "Akechi, give her the hat."

Goro seemed to jump three feet in the air, startled from the thoughts flooding his mind as he gazed at Sayori. He would never bring himself to admit the observations aloud of course, but all of the others seemed to notice anyway, flashing him amused smiles without his knowledge. Even though Ryuji had interrupted his reverie long enough to remind him that yes- Sayori was indeed missing a key part of her attire, he still found himself in a trance like state.

Slowly, he took off the hat and walked over to Sayori. The pink haired girl grinned in response and took off his sunglasses, meeting him halfway. Folding the sunglasses, the girl was quick to slip the shades in the detective's shirt pocket. She hoped it looked decisive, and perhaps bold, but in her heart, Sayori knew she looked more like a shy girl trying to get the task done as quickly as possible. It didn't help that her clumsy hands somehow missed the pocket entirely, instead brushing against the thin fabric of the shirt.

Sayori noticed out of the corner of her eye all of the supportive gestures her friends were giving her with panic and disdain. Makoto, Yusuke, and Futaba seemed to be the only ones not smiling suggestively, giving her a thumbs up, winking, or a combination of all three. For that small saving grace, Sayori knew she owed them immensely.

Goro took Sayori's distraction as a chance to place her large sun hat back on, savoring the extra seconds to drink in the completely adorable beauty that was so uniquely Sayori. From the simple beige sandals to the short white dress with a flowing skirt and ruffled top, Sayori seemed to truly embody an angel…

 _A guardian angel…_ A strange, distant voice agreed in the back of Goro's head. He was half tempted to reach out and adjust the ribbon that tied the flowery hat to Sayori's head, almost finding himself envious of all the others who would look at her beauty and not be able to see half of the brightness and promise that he saw. He made the hesitant choice to trust the Phantom Thieves not to look at her with the same hunger he suspected everyone else on the beach might possess. Afterall, Sayori trusted them as her friends, and trusted him not to be a stupidly jealous fool.

With those thoughts now determinedly locked in place, Goro stepped out of the way and let the rest of their company see her. A pride he knew he didn't deserve to feel bloomed in him at the compliments Sayori received. Afterall, he wasn't the one who picked out the outfit, and he most certainly wasn't the blushing girl that somehow managed to be modest under the weight of the compliments that her friends offered over and over again.

"I knew the yellow ribbons on the dress would be better than the pink!" Ann shouted with a victorious fist raised in the air. She smirked and eyed the three boys next to her. "Which of you guys said that over the group chat? Because I believe you owe me… big time."

Everyone politely pretended not to notice Akira Kurusu, who quickly averted his eyes from the grinning girl.

"Is that really fair though?" Makoto questioned. "To make it a completely fair trial, we would have to buy the other dress too and see how it looks… right?"

"Ain't like it matters," Ryuji responded with a wide grin. "Sayori looks good in everything she wears."

"Is that really the appropriate thing to say?" Yusuke questioned innocently as Ann and Makoto shot the blond boy a death glare. "Afterall, if Sayori already has a commitment to someone else… it could make the both of them rather uncomfortable." He nodded his head subtly to a gaping Sayori, and Akechi, who seemed rather stiff.

Makoto and Ann relaxed at the artist's surprising words. At the very least he had situational awareness for once-

"Of course, I have to agree that I am once again tempted to seek Sayori's guidance, or perhaps find a way to capture the beauty itself…" Yusuke suddenly straightened up with a determined stance. The shadow of his hood was unable to hide the inspired gleam in his eye. "Actually, that is a marvelous idea! Sayori, would you-"

"Unfortunatelyyy…" Ann interrupted, drawing out the word for good measure. "Us girls already decided to go on a banana boat ride together. We need you guys to watch our stuff." The girl strode over to Sayori and took hold of her wrist.

The pink haired girl finally came down from her stunned silence, looking nervously at her boyfriend. "Is it really already time for that? I was hoping that you guys could have some time to get to know each other better."

"That's exactly what's going to happen," Makoto reassured, much to Sayori's confusion. The brown haired girl then whipped her head in Akira, Yusuke, Ryuji, and Morgana's direction, causing them all to stand at attention in panic. She then nodded in Goro's direction. "All of you guys will have plenty of time to get to know each other… while you watch our stuff…"

"Aw man, I wanted to ride a banana boat," Ryuji groaned.

"Sorry, we only got one for the four of us," Ann said with a smile that didn't look apologetic at all. "Unless of course someone is willing to trade?" She looked between Futaba and Sayori.

Futaba seemed to shrink, shaking her head vigorously with a nervous look in the detective's direction. "I don't really think I'm ready to face too many people right now. Besides, it's kind of hot right now, so some time on the water would be good." Even now her voice was shaking a bit as she adjusted her glasses.

Sayori sighed, realizing with sadness that she wasn't willing to trade either. The water did sound nice in the heat… and she didn't want to be an awkward chaperone, no matter how much she had pushed for this meeting. With a sigh, she made sure Goro had a good hold on the beach bag for her. "Keep this stuff safe for me too?"

The detective couldn't even frown, feeling squeamish at the thought of separating. Nevertheless, he kept a tight grip on the bag. "This is for the best. Hanging out in small groups is a better way for me to get to know your friends. Besides, I've already run into Kurusu-kun a few times at the subway station."

Sayori nodded, her smile encouraging. "We'll be back for lunch. Then all of us can hang out!" She tipped her hat awkwardly before joining the other girls. "Find a good place to put our stuff, please?" She asked the other guys.

"Of course," Akira replied. The two groups then separated, Ann leading the group of girls in one direction, and Akira leading the group of boys in the opposite.

* * *

"I don't really feel like us guys get appreciated enough," Goro heard Sakamoto say. The detective glanced over quizzically, finding the blond looking at him intently.

"You got all the luck, Akechi. I get that you and Sayori are roommates, but still, it all seems too easy for you…"

Goro chuckled nervously. "I'm not really sure where you're going with this Sakamoto-kun, but I will agree that I must be lucky. Sayori really is amazing…" The detective sighed, and everyone but Kitagawa rolled their eyes.

"Yes, I remember when I first saw the two of you at that fateful exhibit. I could sense the energy of a deep relationship, I suppose...:"

"Oh brother…" Morgana muttered under his breath.

Goro pretended not to notice, instead smiling at the artist. "Thank you, though at that point we hadn't known each other for very long. I'm glad the relationship we had led to what we share now…"

"That reminds me of something I've been wanting to ask," Kurusu trailed off with a thoughtful frown. He glanced over at Goro to see the detective offering him an inviting smile.

"What is it you mean to ask? I'm almost positive that I'd be happy to answer…"

"Well," Kurusu considered his words for a long moment before turning to completely face the detective. "What was your relationship when you and Sayori first became roommates? Or… How did you become roommates?"

Goro froze as Sakamoto seemed to agree with the black haired boy's questions. "That's true! You were famous by then, Akechi. How is it that you and Sayori started liking each other so fast without worrying about how popular you are makin' everything fake?"

"Uh… Uhh…" The detective found himself at a loss. Were they meaning to tell him that despite being teammates, Sayori had never mentioned to any of them that she had amnesia, or that she was missing from home, with the home itself being the thing that was lost? More importantly, was Sayori purposefully choosing to do so, or had it simply slipped her mind not to mention these things?

Just in case, Goro decided to simply try being as vague as possible. Surely they'd leave the origin story alone, both with him and Sayori, if he gave a somewhat decent answer that sounded too personal to be pursued further. Afterall, telling the full truth would also have the added effect of sounding like he was boasting; by helping a poor amnesiac find her home at the cost of his own expenses. Then that would surely make any attempt at befriending the Phantom Thieves impossible… Which was not acceptable.

Taking a deep breath, the detective looked thoughtful for a moment, taking a few seconds for a grimace to appear on his face, as if he were bringing up truly painful memories… not that it was hard. Remembering the sight of Sayori huddled on a bench in ragged and bloody pajamas, with a scar around her neck was a memory he would rather erase from his mind entirely. When he was sure the others had noticed, the detective began speaking.

"It's rather personal subject matter, and not really my story to tell… But when we first met, Sayori needed me… Actually, perhaps it was simply me that felt that I needed to help her. She didn't really know of my popular status at the time... I honestly don't think either of us were really thinking at the time, but we started living together… That's all I really feel comfortable saying."

The others nodded in respect of their privacy, but Sakamoto wasn't quite done prying. "Think Sayori would be willin' to tell us more?"

"If you ask, maybe… Though I wouldn't bother her about it unless there's a good reason to bring it up," Goro replied, deciding to leave the rest of Sayori's mess for her to clean up… when she was ready, of course.

"Well, now I wanna know any tips you got!" Sakamoto exclaimed, jumping up from his place on the sand.

"Huh?!" Goro felt more confused than ever, noticing with chagrin that Kurusu seemed to be in agreement with whatever the blond was implying. At least Kitagawa kept him company in his confusion, as now even the cat was beginning to understand where the two were going with this.

"Akechi, tell us how you got Sayori to fall for you! We're at this beach for a reason, and that reason is to have fun!" Sakamoto exclaimed.

"I… I don't think I understand, Sakamoto-kun," Goro said reluctantly. "How would my stories help you enjoy a day at the beach?"

"Easy! Those girls we came with don't have any respect for the awesome guys they came with. So I saw while we're here, we steal a girl's heart!"

Goro blinked once, then twice, confusion and panic running through his head. He wondered for far too longer than he should have whether or not what Sakamoto was saying was hyperbole. Thankfully, Kurusu came to the rescue.

"Yes, we have tried to get girls to fall for us before, but none of our attempts at flirting have brought us to the goal we were aiming for," The black haired boy got out his glasses, which Goro was pretty sure were fake, simply to push them up his nose to convey the supposed seriousness of the matter.

"Are you talking about what the two of you and that Mishima character were doing?' Kitagawa asked. "What was it again? Operation: Mai-"

"Don't say it!" Sakamoto interrupted, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

Goro weighed his options. Perhaps this could be what he needed to get these boys to befriend him, like Sayori wanted. But if the girl companions found out, then it would almost certainly send him back to square one, or perhaps even farther back. Goro shuddered. He wasn't sure if they made squares that low, but if they did, Makoto Niijima would definitely put him there.

Still… Perhaps he could pass it off as him simply telling them about how he and Sayori got together for posterity's sake. With that thought in mind, the detective gave a discreet look for the others to pay close attention. When they were all huddled around him, the detective pretended to look lovesick, doing his best to keep up the illusion of innocence he had mastered.

"Well, if you must insist, I will say that when we first started taking an interest in each other, I did my best to take her to scenic locations on the first day. We had already grown attached to one another, through a series of activities and talks relating to things we both enjoyed. Though I have my suspicions that Sayori began liking me before I was aware of it. I simply didn't notice how she felt until I knew I felt the same way…"

He eyed the other boys with patient eyes, seeing how they would respond.

"So are you sayin' that we should take a girl with us to a scenic place on this beach or…?" Sakamoto didn't seem to get it. Kitagawa held out his hands in a framing motion, searching for a place that met those requirements.

This time Goro rolled his eyes. "No, that was when we already liked each other, if you recall…"

This time it was Kurusu's turn to guess. "Are you saying… That we should stand near a group of girls and say our interests, and then see which one agrees with us?"

The detective's eye twitched. "No! I'm saying to be aloof! You'll freak out every girl within a mile if you just start hitting on her!" Goro gestured to Kitagawa. "Out of all of you, he has the best shot because he has that attitude down pat!"

Sakamoto jumped back. "Wow! You really seem to care a lotta 'bout this!"

Goro sighed and offered a weak smile, thankful he hadn't devolved into insulting them. "I just want to help out how I can," he offered. In truth, he was mostly hoping that he could save the females on this beach from three more idiotic boys that tried too hard. Even if none of these three found someone to date, at least they wouldn't embarrass themselves too badly in the process.

"Well now we gotta go try it," Sakamoto exclaimed. Akira and Yusuke stood beside him in agreement. "You two watch our stuff."

"What?!" Morgana exclaimed. The cat creature began to furiously complain, going ignored by his three teammates as they discussed what to do.

"I hope my advice is helpful," Goro responded at the end of the conversation, forcing a smile. He was not pleased that he would have to stay in one place and guard everyone's stuff, but it would only help him in the end.

"I hope it will be… It might make it easier to find new sources of beauty to paint," Kitagawa's eyes sparkled.

"I sincerely hope it does, Kitagawa-kun," Goro replied. He attempted to smile, though he was aware it probably looked more like a grimace.

"Please, call me Yusuke."

"Yeah, no need for formal, fancy junk at the beach. It's Ryuji."

"Akira."

Goro blinked, stunned, at the three smiling boys. Had this really been all that he needed to do? He would have thought it would be more difficult, especially with his stance against the Phantom Thieves that he broadcast on TV. But then again, there had been a couple of times when he had been openly thankful to the Phantom Thieves in front of Sayori, simply because they helped her out of bad situations.

Even if not… if these three were simply letting go of formalities because it was as Sakamoto… no, Ryuji had said, yet another bright spot shone through in the boy's heart. He watched them leave, knowing very well that it would end in disaster if they flirted as a group, yet feeling happy all the same.

 _I suppose it's a step in the right direction,_ Goro thought wistfully, leaning back on his beach towel and realizing that it was just him, and the black cat that he had to pretend to not be able to understand.

"Hello," the detective said cheerfully.

Morgana looked at him with a wrinkled nose, before turning around, flicking his tail at him, and stalking off.

 _I guess it's just me than…_

* * *

"That was so much fun!" Ann shouted, her wet hair splattering water on the girls behind her as she moved around on the beach excitedly, getting used to being on land again.

"Yeah, crazy, super-duper fun," Futaba mumbled in agreement, trembling slightly.

"Is something wrong, Futaba-chan?" Makoto asked with concern. She went over to feel if the girl had a fever.

"Can't walk… Need nourishment…"

"Oh no! We can't let her shut down in the middle of the beach," Sayori took off her hat and used it to fan air towards the young girl. "Akira could get in trouble!"

"We should go back to our stuff," Ann said before rolling her eyes. "Though the boys probably wandered off by now. I'd be surprised if nothing got stolen…"

"Goro will still be there," Sayori pointed out, waving a finger in the air.

"Well than at least your stuff will be there," Makoto replied distantly.

"What does that… Oh, yeah." Sayori sighed as she remembered the grayed out memory she had peeked in on before Kaneshiro's Palace, as well as what she had heard outside of the dressing room.

"Hm? What is it, Sayori?" Makoto asked with concern.

"Nothing, we should go… Futaba isn't looking good," Sayori looked around for the closest booth to get food, before concluding that the lines were too long. They would make better time simply by getting back to their stuff. Still, she noticed a frozen yogurt and ice cream booth not too far, and resolved to get some with Goro before they left the beach today.

"Staple food… with stuff," Futaba mumbled. Makoto nodded and began to lead the tired girl back to their stuff.

They finally arrived at their setup and Futaba hurried to her own bag, getting out a small package of TV dinner and digging in.

"Why aren't any of the boys here?" Ann asked, looking around the beach for any sign of their friends. She sighed in disappointment and got out her own lunch, the container containing her dessert far bigger than the one holding her meal.

Sayori sorted through her bag and found nothing missing except for the things Goro was most likely to have with him. She sighed in relief and readjusted the strap of her hat, her wet, flatter hair having knocked it loose. "Maybe they went to one of the food stalls, or to the bathroom?" Sayori didn't seem concerned as she noticed similar sighs of relief as the other girls checked their own bags.

"Well, we didn't really have any other plans, so we can wait until they get back," Makoto said, settling down to eat her own meal.

Sayori got her own lunch out, but knew she wasn't going to be able to eat until Goro got back. This food had originally been intended for a date, afterall. She should at least eat the food he had worked hard on with him.

She tapped her finger against her thigh as she waited, looking down and focusing her attention on the sand. Shadows of passerby darkened it every few seconds, but she was waiting for the ones that would stop in front of her and begin to complain that they had started without them.

About five minutes passed until she found two dark shapes stopping in front of her. She looked up with a wide beam- only to find herself immediately frowning.

These two men were not her friends. Sayori could see Ann's face transforming into a look of intense annoyance, and Makoto schooling her own into patience. Futaba was thankfully taking a nap under one of the beach umbrellas that had been left out for them, unaware of the annoying strangers with dark, obviously fake tans and bleached blond hair. Sayori was doubly grateful of this fact as the two older men began flirting with Ann and Makoto.

"We're with friends," Makoto explained, gesturing to Sayori and Futaba, and also looking out of the corner of her eye for any of the males that were supposed to be accompanying them.

"Oh, come on… Don't lie to us…" The men continued their pitiable excuses at flirting, and Sayori felt disgust welling in the pit of her stomach.

"Are you listening to a single word she's saying?!" Ann questioned. "We're not interested, get lost!"

"Two women like you shouldn't be spending time at the beach with little kids. You could have a real fun time at our party on our boat. There will be tons of famous people there too."

Sayori couldn't help the small gag in her throat as she found herself standing up too, making her posture as straight as possible. Words from months ago entered her head, and Sayori knew that she seemed unaffected and confident. The others would be here soon enough, and they could go about their day. For now, she would act polite. "Please sirs, my friends and I are here to have fun as a group. And I'm sorry to say, but you need to have an invite before you can barge in and interrupt us…" Sayori knew it sounded lame, but hopefully she could get the rejection message across eventually.

"We weren't talking to you," one of them said curtly, and the snootiness in their accents made Sayori's teeth ache as she clenched her mouth to keep from screaming in frustration.

"Well, actually, I'm curious," the other one said with a devious glint in his eyes. "How does one get invited?" He took a challenging step towards her and smirked as she realized how _tall_ he was compared to her.

"I step away for one minute to get snacks for when you girls got back, and this is what I find?" A new voice chimed in, and Sayori's heart sung in relief as she noticed Goro stepping carefully towards them, balancing eight cups of white frozen yogurt on his outstretched arms. The yogurt had a yellow powder on them, which Sayori assumed was lemon zest, and the edges of the bowl looked liquidy, as though it had begun to melt in the summer sun.

Behind him trailed Akira, Yusuke, and Ryuji. Yusuke also seemed to be going slow, holding something red and squirming in both hands.

"Woah, we didn't think you were telling the truth when you said you had friends," One of the men replied. Both boys turned to leave, only for Goro to immediately step into their path, knocking over almost all of the frozen yogurt onto the ground, except for the two in his hands.

"That's hardly an excuse for taking such a bold approach towards my girlfriend, along with her friends," The detective said, a pensive frown on his face. "I expect you to make it up to me."

One of them rolled their eyes. "It's shocking to see such a mocked figure still sporting such confidence. Move out of the way, _Detective_." They moved to push past as Goro was momentarily shocked at the scorn used in his title, before swiftly blocking their paths again.

"I only insist that you take these two frozen yogurts off of my hands, since all of the others have been spilled." Goro then smirked. "Afterall, you should probably know that taking another step towards those four girls would probably have resulted with your fingers… broken and bleeding. Niijima-san and Takamaki-san are people who don't mess around with the likes of you."

The two seemed shocked and offended, grumbling to themselves. After only a few moments of this, they took the two small bowls of yogurt.

"We really appreciate _you_ making it up to _us_ , then."

"I'm sure you do," Goro replied, and only Sayori noticed the smirk that appeared on his face for a moment.

Goro sat down at the place where Sayori had set up their meals, Sayori taking a seat beside him a moment later.

"Those guys were jerks," Ann grumbled in explanation to the other three boys, who glared in the direction of the retreating men.

"Why did you give them that frozen yogurt?" Makoto asked, slightly frustrated.

"What's this about frozen yogurt?" Futaba suddenly woke up, looking around in confusion as Morgana reappeared, slinking onto the edge of Futaba's beach chair.

"You need not worry about it, Sakura-san. That frozen yogurt was already _contaminated_."

Sayori stopped picking at the rice in her meal, turning to gape at her boyfriend. The others had already turned in caution, wondering what the detective could possibly mean.

"What did you put in that frozen yogurt?" Makoto asked with a glare.

Goro seemed confused, before his eyes lit up with realization and he laughed lightly. "Do not worry, Niijima-san. Those frozen yogurts weren't meant for you the moment I saw those… cretins-" His eyes went dark for a moment, before quickly going back to a calm caramel as he wrapped an arm around Sayori's waist. "They weren't contaminated when I intended to give them to you all, but when I saw that those men were bothering you, I added two ingredients to all of them, knowing they might get suspicious if only two of them were different from the others…"

It took several seconds before the others realized the detective had paused for dramatic effect, waiting for them to prompt him.

"Akechi-kun, what did you put in them?" Ann asked.

"Well, I poisoned them, what else?"

"WHAT!?" exclaimed Ann.

"No, I just spat in them. I put a little sand in there too."

Sayori thought back to the powdery substance and the watery texture of the yogurt, realizing just what that meant.

"What if they come back and kick your ass?" Ryuji asked, his voice concerned despite the fact that he was grinning.

"I'm almost positive that even if they have realized what is wrong with their refreshments, they won't come back here and make a scene. Besides, I'm confident in your abilities to fend them off," Goro looked towards Ann and Makoto. "You have taken Aikido lessons. Right, Niijima-san?"

"Right." Makoto confirmed, her eyes wide in shock. "But I thought you said…"

"I can tell that whoever you might have been in the past, you certainly aren't…" Goro grimaced, "What I said you were, earlier. I apologize, though I don't expect you to forgive me."

Sayori grinned at Goro, leaning on his shoulder as relief flooded through her. _This is good,_ she thought. However slow, progress was at least being made.

"And also, I appreciate your willingness to help and protect Sayori when I can't," He looked at both Ann and Makoto seriously at this, before releasing a forlorn sigh. "I feel rather bad I wasted the opportunity to express that by ruining the refreshments."

"Do you not have any money," Yusuke asked curiously, everyone knowing he could relate.

"I have no more with me," Goro replied.

"Well, I suppose it is only a stroke of good fate that I took your advice, and it worked," Yusuke said with a self satisfied smile. He then held up the two squirming red shapes in his hands, giving everyone a full view of the two lobsters he had gotten. "By acting aloof, I was able to get these beauties for a cheaper price, and I think I have enough left for a few items from the ice cream stands."

"You spent all of your money on… lobsters?" Sayori asked, getting up to look at the crustaceans. She wiggled a finger at one of them, immediately drawing back before it could snap its claws.

"One look, and I was in love. I haven't been so inspired since I first saw Ann, or heard your woe, Sayori," Yusuke replied, oblivious to the mixed reactions he was receiving.

Ryuji slouched over in embarrassment, while Akira simply shook his head. Ann sighed, rubbing her nose to prevent a headache.

Futaba shot up from her seat and began to grab at the lobsters, only for Yusuke, with his superior height, to begin holding his new treasures out of her reach.

"Inari should forget about the lobsters if he's serious about getting ice cream," Futaba grumbled, her sweet tooth talking for her.

"I was actually thinking of popsicles," Yusuke replied sheepishly. "Specifically, the kind that you can split in half. I wouldn't have to get nearly as many that way."

"If you want to find a better place to put those," Goro began, " Sayori and I could simply take the money you're willing to give us and get the popsicles ourselves."

"That sounds preferable," Yusuke replied, shifting the lobsters in his hands for better access to his hoodie pocket. He removed a few bills and grimaced. "Sorry if you can't find anything good enough."

"This should be plenty," Sayori reassured, taking the money from Yusuke's hands. She grabbed Goro by his hand and began to run towards the ice cream stand she had seen earlier. Before she could get far enough she heard a distant shouting behind her.

"Wait! I have to come too," Morgana shouted, coming to a stop. "They all said I should keep an eye on the two of you guys in case your cocky boyfriend was wrong, and those guys do come back." The black cat puffed up with pride. "Of course, if they do come back, I'll take care of them for you!"

Sayori smiled, being careful with her words for the time being, "Thank you for keeping us company, Morgana. We'll make sure to be slower." She began walking in the direction she had been going, allowing Goro to walk ahead so that they were now side-by-side.

"So, would you say you're getting along with everyone?" Sayori asked, smiling hopefully at her boyfriend.

Goro considered the question, looking down at his feet for a few moments, before looking back up to give his answer. "Apparently, I've won over the males enough for them to want me to call them by their given names… Though I think that was a hasty decision they made simply because I gave them helpful advice. In truth, I spent most of the time you were gone watching everyone's stuff… by myself." If he was bitter about that, he kept his tone calm, taking a spot in the long line for the ice cream booth.

"Well, I'm sure Ann and Makoto appreciate what you did with those guys," Sayori pointed out. "That reminds me, you haven't gotten to spend time with Futaba yet…"

"I get the feeling it will take longer for her to warm up to me," Goro replied, squeezing the girl's hand. "Besides, I'd much rather spend time with you."

Both of them made a point to ignore the gagging sound Morgana made. "Why am I on scout duty. I want to join in on the fun too," the cat whined. "Besides, they're probably talking about the same thing, but with less mushy stuff."

"Morgana, you can head back," Sayori said, trying to make her words neutral. "We'll be fine getting back ourselves."

"No way! Akira trusted me to make sure nothing happened to the two of you!" Morgana declared. "And I will succeed! Otherwise, I'll be…" The cat's mouth seemed to tremble as he trailed off.

"What flavors do you think everyone would want?" Goro suddenly asked, before glancing at Morgana and rubbing his chin. "Do you think it would be safe for Morgana to consume a popsicle?"

"That's random?" Sayori giggled, before thinking seriously. "It would probably be better just to get one of each, and then everyone can choose. They didn't have many options for popsicle flavors, so we won't be getting too much."

"Well, I'd prefer to be exact, so I wouldn't be spending too much of Kita- Yusuke's money," Goro cringed as he corrected himself.

"Well, Ann would probably like chocolate, and I like strawberry…" Sayori trailed off.

The two continued discussing possible flavors to get as they worked their way through the line, finally settling on getting four fruit flavors, and a small cone of ice cream for Futaba. Goro held onto the change and the cone on the walk back, while Sayori gripped the plastic wrappers of the popsicles. They figured this was for the best, because if Sayori tripped, she wouldn't lose the change or ruin Futaba's cone.

They talked on their way back, Morgana deeming it safe to run ahead and tell the others that they were coming. The line had been rather slow, so the sun was beginning to dip low in the sky. In probably only an hour, it would begin to make the sky glow pink and red.

"We should all take a picture when the sun sets," Sayori suggested wistfully. "No matter how slow, it would be a good way to remember the day my friends became your friends…"

"I don't really think we're that far yet, Sayori," Goro pointed out, receiving a reluctant nod of agreement from the girl. "Still, I appreciate your faith in me, and in your friends. I hope we can become friends… I just…" the detective was at a loss for words.

"I talk a lot about you with them. You aren't the same person you are on TV, or in public… for the most part," Sayori smiled at the thought of his scheme from earlier. "If I have anything to say about it… You'll all be fast friends." Very quietly, Sayori added under her breath, " _And then you'll be okay_."

"Would that make you happy, Sayori? I don't want to somehow make you feel sad, like what you said happened in your old club," the detective visibly shuddered at the thought.

"That won't happen this time," Sayori replied, looking forward resolutely. "My friends will be your friends, you'll be my boyfriend, and we can all be happy together until it's time for me to go."

"You make it sound so simple," Goro shook his head. "But even if they really do come to like me so fast, after all that has already happened, and all that's going to continue to happen… I don't think I'll be able to…"

"And that's why you need friends like them, and a girlfriend like me," Sayori said, smiling brightly. "I'll make sure nothing bad happens. I don't want you to regret anything else. I want to be happy… I want to be happy together!"

"I'll do my best to not let you down," Goro replied, doing his best to ignore the threat of tears burning in his eyes. He was suddenly aware of a cold feeling running down his hand, and looked down to see Futaba's ice cream beginning to melt.

With that, conversation ceased, and the two began to sprint back towards their place with the others, doing their best not to spill or drop anything.

* * *

"Perhaps getting popsicles that split in half wasn't the best idea," Ann commented as she held up her treat. Trying to split them perfectly had been a challenge, oftentimes resulting in one person getting a large chunk of popsicle attached to the side, at risk of falling off entirely. Even worse, the other person who shared would get only half, leaving too much of the popsicle stick exposed, forcing everyone to eat their popsicles rather awkwardly.

"You guys should have just scrounged up enough money to get ice cream… like a smart person," Futaba said, smirking as she dipped her spoon into her bowl. After a few bites, she began to slurp the now melted dessert up, smiling even wider as a liquidy mustache appeared on her upper lip. "It's my favorite flavor too! How did the two of you know I liked chocolate?"

"Lucky guess?" Sayori shrugged, before getting back to her own business. She tugged on her own stick of her shared popsicle, while Goro tugged on the other. After a few seconds, the pink popsicle split, leaving the Sayori with the small popsicle and Goro with the larger.

"Shoot! Looks like you get to make a wish, Goro," Sayori said, casually licking her popsicle while everyone looked at her in confusion.

"What do you mean by wish?" Akira asked. He was one of the only people to get an exact half. He had been left to share with Makoto, who insisted that she split it herself.

"You don't know? You play tug-of-war, and whoever gets the larger half gets to make a wish!" Sayori smiled, as if it were common knowledge. However, everybody else was even more confused.

Ann was the first one to figure it out, giggling as she went over to correct the girl. "I think you mixed this up with a wishbone on a turkey. That kind of thing happens a lot at Thanksgiving…"

"Well, it's not Thanksgiving right now! So this is a… a summer wishbone!" Sayori declared, raising her popsicle in the air. The sudden jolt caused some of the melted liquid to drip onto her arm.

Goro handed her a napkin, doing his head not to smile as the girl cringed from the slight cold touching her arm. "In that case, would you like to trade? I wouldn't even know what to wish for."

"It doesn't work like that," Sayori replied. "Besides, I know you well enough to know that there has to be _something_ for you to wish for."

"Would it not count if I said it aloud?" The detective asked, tapping the popsicle against his chin in thought. "I heard that that's a common condition for making wishes."

"Akechi is shy," Futaba commented, before looking around at everyone else. "This means that Ryuji and Inari also get to make wishes."

"I could use some new paint brushes…" Yusuke began to ponder quietly to himself.

"I was already planning on gettin' myself some ramen tomorrow! So I'll make a wish I know will come true!" Ryuji shouted with a grin.

"If only I was the one with a wish," Makoto began. "Then I'd wish for your grades to reflect the effort I know you're capable of, Ryuji."

"It's summer! Cut me some slack!" Ryuji protested.

"I would definitely be able to make some use of that wish," Morgana sulked, bowing his head.

"Oh, don't be so down, Morgana," Sayori said. She grabbed the cat creature and set him on her lap, scratching the top of his head lightly. "You had fun today, didn't you? And you're still perfect to pet!"

"I'm nobody's pet!" Morgana protested, writhing out of the girl's loose grasp.

"Morgana seems… proud," Goro commented. He looked at the retreating cat, and back up to the group of Thieves, who were all poking fun at each other. Even with all the ways he had tried, and even with the way some of them had seemingly warmed up to him, the detective still felt like he was only observing. The guilt of knowing exactly what he knew didn't help in the slightest, and he couldn't help but pathetically look down at his popsicle stick.

Despite everything, he still felt like there was an impassable barrier in his path, and as time went on, observing the group, he felt the desperate need to get away. Perhaps things would be better if he simply let things go back to the way they used to be. He knew he'd probably be a lot more comfortable with that. The Phantom Thieves would be free to discuss whatever they wanted, without worrying about censoring themselves.

It only took him a few seconds to make up his mind. He stood up and smiled at the group. "I think I'll be getting ready to go home soon. I'll leave you guys to talk amongst yourselves for some time…"

Sayori got up to join him, only for him to shake his head. "Shouldn't I go with you if we're leaving?" she asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"No. I'm not leaving yet, Sayori. It's just something I feel like doing…" The detective was quick to stretch and fake a yawn. "I'll see you when you all come to the changing area."

With that, Goro Akechi turned and left the group to their own devices. The rest of his popsicle melted and slipped off the small stick, still gripped in his hand. All the while, he couldn't help but think about what wish he would like in this moment. Things going back to the way they were… wasn't an option.

No… He could only wish that before things crumbled around him, he could be a true part of the group that Sayori found so special… that Sayori was a part of. None of the awkwardness and lies and half baked secrets.

But for now, those walls stood tall. Sayori was the only one able to even attempt to cross from side to side. And right now, Goro felt that leaving her and the group to their own devices would be the best course of action.

* * *

"So what did you guys think?" Sayori asked, finishing off her popsicle with a final bite. She cringed as the cold stung her teeth.

"Well, I suppose he did what he thought he could have done to break the ice," Makoto looked down with a sigh. "I don't really want to hold a grudge against him, but it was all so awkward. I can't look past everything that's already happened."

"He never struck me as anything worth being distraught over, though his negative opinion of the Phantom Thieves makes it hard to feel any kind of friendship with him," Yusuke said regretfully. "However, perhaps my mind can be changed with time. Afterall, it was his advice that lead to me getting such inspiration for a smaller price."

Futaba glared at the box where the lobsters were kept. "That might just be another jerk thing he did, honestly. Still, I was too shy today to really have a good opinion. He got me ice cream though, so that's one point. Or… I guess he got me frozen yogurt, and then used Yusuke's money to get me ice cream when that didn't work out."

Sayori nodded along to each opinion, not really expecting much other than neutral opinions. At this point, that was all she could hope for. Akira had met him plenty of times on his own, yet never talked with him about much other than politics and Phantom Thieves. Ann was amused by his attempt to "save" them from the guys that had bothered them earlier, and was more than willing to give him a shot. Morgana was mostly suspicious and worried about him finding out about their status as Phantom Thieves. Lastly, Ryuji seemed open to getting to know him, as long as he "had anything cool to say, like earlier."

Whatever that meant, Sayori was happy. As long as she got more chances, she knew she could continue to turn things around for the better. This made her happy to sit and watch as the sun came closer and closer to the horizon, listening to her friends chat. Not wanting to keep Goro waiting, they all soon decided that it would be best to get ready to go home themselves.

But before they left, everyone turned to see Futaba crouching down by the shore. The girl was deep in thought, and only after long moments of prompting did she finally voice her thoughts.

"You know… All this time, I thought that it was my fault that my mom died," the girl began. The melancholy in her voice seemed to make the casualness of earlier conversation dissipate. Sayori felt an urgent need not to disturb her.

"It's because everyone said that I killed her. Everyone looked at me thinking I was a murderer. I ended up hating this world. That's why I shut myself in and covered my ears," Futaba stood up, a regretful look on her face. "I wished… I wished my mom would come back to life. Sometimes, I'd wake up and think it was all a dream. But nothing had changed in the world. That's why I'd sleep again. It'd be a repeat of that…"

"Ah." Makoto seemed uneasy, walking slowly over to Futaba's side.

Sayori felt a shudder running through her. She hugged herself in a half-hearted attempt to make the feeling stop as she listened to Futaba's words.

"I loved my mom. I wanted to become like her. How she'd work late into the night. How she'd wake up early and make me a boxed lunch everyday. How she'd do her best to further her research. How she'd scold me for peeking at her notes," Futaba smiled fondly at the memories running through her head, saying each sentence with an overwhelming confidence. Now she could look at these memories without any fog or clouds to blind her.

"It was cognitive psience, wasn't it?" Makoto asked.

"'The cognitive world can become distorted through desires. If it becomes distorted, a person begins exhibiting problematic behavior in reality. That cognitive world disappears when you remove it core, and further problematic actions stop.'" Futaba recited in a monotone voice, despite the shock that all of her surrounding friends felt at hearing these facts.

"Isn't that about Palaces…?" Ann asked with wide eyes.

"That's the Metaverse!" Morgana confirmed. "She knew about that?"

"It made no sense back then, but now I understand, after it actually happened to me. All I thought about was my mom. I was trapped in a cognitive labyrinth. I couldn't get out of it. There was nothing I could do by myself," Futaba said. The only sign of distress was the crack that appeared in her voice every few seconds.

"That's why you asked us to steal your heart? That's a huge jump in logic in so many ways!" Ryuji exclaimed.

"At first, I didn't believe the rumors about the Phantom Thieves… That they steal hearts. But I overheard you accidentally. I learned that you were near me," Futaba explained. "I also who was involved… and how."

"Overheard?" Yusuke asked, before he seemed to put the pieces together. "Ah, the bug… So why were you listening in on Leblanc in the first place?"

"I had to keep an eye on Sojiro. Make sure he was actually working." Futaba replied with a smirk.

"Talk about an awful hobby…" Ryuji commented.

"What… What exactly did you hear, Futaba-chan?" Sayori asked, her face turning pink. If Futaba had learned who they were, she hoped it at least wasn't too humiliating for the Phantom Thieves. They were supposed to be vigilant, afterall.

"You talked about stealing hearts. When I heard that, I was so happy I jumped up and down. I thought, maybe the Phantom Thieves could cure my heart." Futaba truly seemed excited as she recounted the memory, her smile bright and her eyes wide.

"You could've just told us that from the start…" Ann sighed, shaking her head lightly.

"You might have been wary of me if I asked you out of nowhere. And besides, you could have been bad guys. That's why I cautiously got in contact with you guys. I checked many times to see how you'd react," Futaba explained. The girl then blushed, rubbing her arm sheepishly. "At the time, I also got in contact with Sayori… because I made a mistake in how I thought she was related to you guys…"

"Yes, you had us twisted around your little finger," Makoto replied with a knowing smile, before she processed the other part of what Futaba said. "Wait, what do you mean by that?"

"I overheard a conversation between Akira and Sayori a couple of weeks after Madarame was exposed. I thought they were dating…"

Sayori jumped back in shock, not knowing how to respond. "Why… How… What… We aren't!"

"I figured the stupid online magazines that said you were dating the detective over there were just 'This Week's Next Top Garbage!' I only realized after seeing the two of you, all… mushy near the dressing booth that maybe they had a point…" Futaba blushed in embarrassment, before clearing her throat. There were plenty of other things she could talk to Sayori about. The girl's love life was not high on Futaba's list of priorities.

"Futaba, you didn't talk to anyone besides Boss for a long time, right? You must've needed a lot of courage to talk to the Phantom Thieves," Ann pointed out. Everyone could tell from her gentle demeanor that the model was confused, and it was easy to guess that she must have also been proud.

"There were two reasons for it. One was Medjed's taunt. The Phantom Thieves were so pitiful, it frustrated me. I would've been in trouble if they got disbanded too…" Futaba explained, straightening her glasses as she went back to her exposition mode. It was much easier for her to explain this, her process, rather than her failure to grasp what counted as signs as romance and what didn't.

"Indeed. You were our only hope…" Yusuke said. He seemed somber, yet he did so with a purpose. Sayori still seemed to be grappling with this new information. Though they were all paying rapt attention to the story they were being given, it was easy for the artist to notice the sorrow and confusion taking hold of his friend. He too felt that way, afterall. Sorrowful, for being concerned with such trivial things now, and confused, for missing such a big oversight that could lead to a misunderstanding.

"The other was what I heard through wiretapping Leblanc. Sojiro was being blamed with lies, like abusing me… He was being threatened to spill everything about my mom…" Futaba said sadly, slumping forward as fears from not long ago once again weighed on her.

"Talk about makin' shit up," Ryuji snapped.

"We all know Sojiro would never do something like that!" Sayori exclaimed. "If not for you, we would have all done this for Boss just as easily!"

"It made me sad, and it hurt. I thought, I have to save Sojiro. I gotta do something," Futaba's words turned into a slight mumble, though everyone heard the determination in her voice loud and clear.

"So that's why…" Ann trailed off.

"But the Phantom Thieves… I didn't think you guys would be taking such risks for me. I didn't think you'd worry about me so much," Futaba smiled slightly, before an even deeper frown took its place. "I'm sorry that I acted like I doubted you guys."

"Do you believe in us now?" Ann asked.

"Yeah. I can tell. You aren't bad guys. That's why I have a request. Let me join your team," Futaba said, straightening up in determination.

"We already decided that you were one of us, Futaba!" Sayori replied, a bright smile suddenly lighting up her whole face. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"I'll be honest. Changing people's hearts isn't my goal. I want to learn what happened to my mom… The reason why she was killed," Futaba admitted. She frowned, and her eyes narrowed, and everyone could tell that she was completely serious.

Still… The disbelief, shock, and hurt that was building up in Sayori's heart made every sentence that followed Futaba's statement feel like a nail being pounded into her skull.

"Killed?" Yusuke asked, astonished. All of his attention was now focused on Futaba. This meant that everyone was fortunate enough to miss the way Sayori gripped at her head, tighter with each passing second.

"It was written in her notes," Futaba admitted, shaking slightly. "Should the self in the cognitive world die, the self in the real world would lose consciousness…"

"Is this about mental shutdowns?" Ryuji asked, connecting the dots in time with the pounding of each single nail.

"Then, the criminal that Kaneshiro mentioned…" Slowly but surely, the pounding was getting louder.

"Yes, that could be the case. I don't like pursuing this line of thought, but perhaps your mother's Shadow was…" Makoto trailed off, her eyes shining with unshed tears for the word left unsaid.

 _Killed… Died… I died… she died… we died… But somehow I'm here… Why?_

"I don't know for sure… But, right before my mom died, she didn't seem right," Futaba said, recalling one of the truths she had previously been unable to see.

"In what way?" Ryuji prompted.

"No matter how much I talked to her, she wouldn't answer back. And she didn't jump into the road. It was more like she collapsed and fell in…" Futaba's voice remained surprisingly steady, despite the melancholy that rocked her shoulders. "That's why I thought what was written in the notes was real and looked into it. I read books, checked theses that were released online… I even snuck into the networks of various research labs to look at their classified data."

"That's why you're good at hacking. What kind of brain do you have?" Ryuji shouted, mouth open wide.

"But, I didn't figure anything out. My mom's research was nowhere to be found. She was killed by someone, and her research was treated like it never existed," Futaba said, her voice getting lower and lower as sorrow was replaced with fury. "I bet it's them… Those adults in the black suits who read the fake suicide note. I'll never forgive them." The girl stamped her foot to emphasize her point.

"Futaba…" Ann whispered. She looked down at the ground and took a few deep, calming breaths.

"If I stay with you guys, I think I can find out more about that cognitive world. Then eventually, it might even lead to those men in black," Futaba continued sternly, before suddenly looking unsure. "It's a super-personal reason why I wanna join you… Is that OK? Or would I just be dead weight?"

"If anything, you're dependable. Ain't that right, Mona?" Ryuji remarked, looking pointedly at the cat.

"Why are you looking at me? Are you trying to say I'm inadequate!?" Morgana snapped. The two were once again about to be at each other's throats, but before either of them could get another word in, Ryuji found himself shoved away, and Morgana jumped back as a foot kicked up sand in his direction.

"Both of you stop! This is serious, and I'm not in the mood to hear you're pointless argument!" Sayori screamed, her voice raw as she trembled. Nobody could tell if it was from anger or sadness, but the tears and the hiccups that were threatening to spill out would answer their question soon, if she wasn't careful.

"Is something wrong!?" Akira asked in panic, going over to check on the girl. She held up a hand to stop him before he could get far though.

"Yeah… Something is always wrong. But that's not important right now…" Sayori closed her eyes and silently counted every breath she made, until she was calm enough to slowly back away from the group without trouble.

"This is what the group is like… I hope we get along, Futaba," Makoto said, her voice full of doubt as she looked hard at the normally peppy Sayori. If anyone noticed the confusion in her voice, or the harsh stare, they didn't bring it up.

"Thanks," Futaba said, smiling in gratitude despite the sudden intense pressure in the air.

With that discussion out of the way, everyone gladly moved onto the next important topic that came with getting a new member. They had to decide on a codename. It took several long minutes of thinking, of agonizing. They went through several different suggestions, Futaba denying all of them. Finally, Futaba decided on her codename. Everyone agreed that it was perfect, and went back to the dressing room with her words repeating in her head.

"With my vision, I'll guide you all to victory."

 _Oracle_.

* * *

Sayori quietly changed into her extra clothes, the droopiness of her hat as she took it off reflecting her current disposition. The shadows that became larger and darker on the changing stall's walls as the sun went down would have filled her with unease, if she already wasn't incredibly scared.

 _He's been acting funny ever since I mentioned anything to do with helping Futaba… Is that another clue?_

Sayori sniffled, doing her best not to shake as she put her beach outfit back into her bag. Now more than ever, the pressure to do something with the knowledge she had been given weighed heavily in her mind. It all felt like some sort of fate that she had ended up in this situation.

She knew so much more than everyone else, and yet the question of what to do with that information made that power feel more and more like a curse. It choked her, drowned her, crushed her, and boiled underneath her skin.

Sayori knew that with the way everything looked, Goro didn't stand much of a chance of being innocent. The evidence, no matter how coincidental or circumstantial, was too damning to be denied. The right thing to do would be to tell the authorities, or the other Phantom Thieves. She should cut her losses… cut him out and leave.

But, the hollow, hiccuping feeling in her throat made Sayori realize just how hollow that option was. Through some higher means, she had realized the reality she lived in was a mirage, had learned how meaningless things were. Sayori had learned that Goro Akechi was up to something, probably before anyone else ever would, but…

She had been allowed to become close to him before any of that. Sayori wouldn't believe for a second that it didn't mean anything. Goro had admitted time and time again that he had never been as close to anyone as he was with her. To simply take the information she had and turn it against him, when she could do so much more, would sting much more than she would ever be able to admit.

Sayori frowned as all of her doubts trickled away. She had spent plenty of time observing, now it was time to take what she already knew and use it. That is… If she wasn't already too late.

That poisonous thought snapped her out of her reverie as she looked at the changing stall that was growing darker and darker. There was a thin line of windows near the ceiling, too high to reveal anything of whoever was currently using it. It let natural light in. Now that it was getting dark, Sayori knew she had to hurry before night fell completely.

Though the determination for her newest resolve never left her, Sayori felt unfocused as she slipped a shirt on and combed through her hair with her fingers. The tightness in her throat felt different, and Sayori had to squint as the world around her turned white around the edges.

Different, unpleasant sensations rippled across Sayori as she realized what was happening. She forced herself not to cry out as fire and ice shot through her veins.

It was over in less than a second. Sayori came back, gasping for air, trying to fill up her lungs that for a moment, hadn't existed. She wiped the sweat off her forehead and panted as she finished changing, slipping on shorts and sandals, before hurrying out of the changing room as fast as her legs could carry her. Her resolve was nearly pushed to the backburner as the panicked realization struck her with the force of a bullet.

 _I'm disappearing… again._

Unbeknownst to anyone, there was yet another factor in this game. In her rush, Sayori hadn't noticed the pair of feet peeking out from one of the other stalls, or the dark shape that slid across the window. From the stall, a pair of astonished, brown eyes watched her go. From the window, shining blue eyes saw the entire scene, before going back to meet up with the group waiting outside for the two girls that had taken so long to change.

A second later, Futaba Sakura emerged from her own stall, tapping her foot anxiously on the ground as she processed what she had just seen. She would have missed it if she blinked, but Sayori's feet had been gone, and then the girl was panting, as if she had been underwater for too long and was just coming up for air.

 _That settles it. I definitely need to discuss what I saw in the Metaverse that day… I need to solve this puzzle!_

With a firm nod, Futaba strode out of the building, ready to find the truth she sought.

 **I hope you liked this chapter! There was supposed to be more stuff in this chapter but when I reached the fifteenth page of this fic and it was still the beach, I decided to just save the rest of that for a separate chapter. I think it turned out better this way. It's an "end of summer" chapter. Also, because I have little faith in my ability to describe clothing, Sayori's beach outfit is actually based off of a piece of art in the Salvato Store. I believe it's part of the "date" series. Funny thing, my partner said it's similar to Haru's swimsuit. Anyway, please read, review, and I'll see all of you next time!**


	47. Chapter 46

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

A few days later, the Phantom Thieves once again found themselves in Mementos. The new request they'd gotten had given them the perfect opportunity to practice with their new team mate. Of course, Oracle took to it easily, helping to lead them deeper and deeper into Mementos.

Of course, while this progress was exciting and worth celebration, Valiant couldn't find it in herself to be happy at all. The deeper they ventured, the longer she had to stay with the group. That meant that sooner or later she would run into the inevitable. Sooner or later, she was going to disappear again, and their wouldn't be any place to hide. Her teammates were too vigilant, too wary to let anybody out of their sight for even a minute, afterall.

 _That thought is supposed to be comforting, but instead it's being ruined by this horrible… whatever it is that's happening to me!_ Valiant thought with an unsettling amount of bitterness as she unmasked and unleashed Psyche on a trio of unsuspecting Shadows. Two were destroyed, and the last was incredibly weak, so the Phantom Thieves performed their usual routine. Joker walked away with a new mask and a grin on his face.

"Good work, everyone. Valiant, thank you for finishing that up," Joker said, reaching over to pat the girl on the shoulder.

While the Phantom Thieves had always known the noble-themed member to be jumpy, everybody was shocked to see the girl physically recoil away from him.

"It was nothing… I guess I just have a lot of energy," Valiant tried to excuse, smiling nervously. The fidgeting she often performed was another expected behavior, but this time there was an unknown purpose as she folded her hands together and rubbed the back of her left leg with her right.

 _Five fingers on each hand… two hands… and I can still feel my legs. Good! Still, I shouldn't let anyone near until I figure out what's going on._ The pink haired girl rubbed the back of her head with a too-wide grin. "We should get going, right? We have a request to do today!"

Before anyone could object, Sayori was already stepping into the Monabus, taking her seat in the back, and waiting patiently for the others to follow.

"This is… weird," Panther commented, casting her eyes to the ground with a frown, as if that could solve the problem. "Do you think something happened?"

Before anyone else could open their mouth to answer, Oracle could be heard nervously spluttering from within her Persona. "What? Wh… Why would anything be wrong with her? She probably just got a sunburn at the beach, and doesn't want anyone to touch her!"

"But she's as pale as she's ever been," Queen remarked. "And she hasn't said anything like that to us…"

"I… We… Well, is Valiant really the kind of person to complain a lot about what's bothering her?" Came the new navigator's panicked retort.

"Nope," Skull replied. "At least, not for stuff like that. She had the right idea though. We should get goin'!"

Everyone reluctantly agreed and got into the transformed vehicle. However, right before she did so, Panther frowned thoughtfully as she noted something odd. She scrutinized the large bus, which purred like a kitten, despite the fact that Mona was fully grown. The bus was acting like a bus, but that didn't make much sense at all.

"Mona, you've been quiet for awhile… Got nothing to say?" Panther flipped one of her pigtails to her back, placed a hand on her hip, and tapped her foot.

Mona said nothing, though from the way the bus suddenly violently jerked, he had obviously reacted to what she had to say. Panther counted to ten in her head before shaking her head in disappointment.

"I guess not," the blonde sighed, stepping into the bus and taking her seat. The transformed bus let out a low rumble, as if to show that the cat it had previously was trying to convey its own negativity about keeping quiet.

But Mona was no snitch. _Sayori will come clean eventually. She has to…_

Joker hit the gas and the Phantom Thieves rode further and further into Mementos. Oracle's UFO followed closely behind. In between her constant scan of Mementos, making sure to report her findings to everyone, the girl considered her thoughts.

 _Whenever I look at Valiant on my scanners, she shows up differently from everyone else. Not only that, but whenever I check her stats…_ Oracle made sure that there were no Shadows near them before once again checking the information she had gathered.

Aside from being able to scan and document Shadows for their type, strengths, and weaknesses, Oracle had also found that she could do the same for her teammates. As she looked over most of her teammates, she found the same thing over and over again. The list was extensive and detailed, showing their full names, code names, the Personas they could use (Joker's list took up an entire screen), and every single detail that came with it…

But Sayori's hadn't shown up like that. It had been the same thing during the battle with the cognitive of Futaba's mother.

 _Name:_

 _Codename: Valiant_

 _Persona: Psyche_

 _Persona Primary Skill Type: Bless_

 _Persona Stats: Strength 28, Magic 35, Endurance 40, Agility 22, Luck 25_

 _Social Stats: Knowledge 3, Guts 2, Proficiency 2, Kindness 5, Charm 4_

Oracle glanced at the information once more, tapping her fingers rhythmically against the control board only she could touch. She had attempted to go in and change the name back to Sayori's actual last name, Matsu, but it had immediately autocorrected itself back to what the hacker could only assume was a file name. What was even more strange was that when Oracle had clicked on this file name, not really expecting anything to happen, she had been rewarded with an even stranger message for all of her hard work.

 _This file's contents are in a different location, and are currently inaccessible._

This was frustrating in its own right, but with all that Oracle had learned of Sayori in reality, from her absence on the internet, to the incident in the bathroom that she was still having trouble processing, the navigator felt as though her head was spinning in confusion and anger.

Futaba had spent every day since she had last seen Sayori preparing for a confrontation. She had spent almost the entirety of those few days psyching herself up and planning what she could possibly say. Now all she had to do was find a moment where she and Sayori were alone to explain what she had seen. She had considered just opening up a private chat, but that seemed too impersonal, even for the struggling hermit that Oracle was.

 _Even if it makes me incredibly uncomfortable, when I tell Sayori about all of this, she will probably need someone to talk to that at least somewhat understands what's happening to her… Not that I even understand what the heck is going on, either…_

 _Actually,_ the navigator thought to herself suddenly, _it wouldn't be a bad idea to find out what's happening to Sayori before I spill the beans. I wonder…_

With a new objective firmly in her mind, Oracle snapped right back into action, shouting the arrival of a Shadow and offering her assistance in the ensuing battle. The Phantom Thieves completed their mission for the day in record time, and managed to open up yet another wall. With another success in the bag, the group headed home for the day, making promises for another meeting in the near future.

Everyone pretended to not notice the way Valiant cringed at the arrangement.

* * *

Sayori couldn't help the involuntary shiver that passed through her spine as she walked along the sidewalk towards Shujin Academy. Most would think she was making a joking gesture as she neared the institution, but that was simply not the case. Sayori had real reason to fear being out in public, or even being with close friends she trusted. The constant thought that she could disappear at any moment was a tornado in her mind, tearing away her ability to focus, and feel even the slightest bit happy that she was meeting with a friend she hadn't seen in nearly two months.

Still, Sayori forced a smile onto her face as she made her way into the building and navigated her way to the library. Inside, she found Mai struggling with a heavy, sealed box. Hearing the door opening, Mai turned around, a big grin already forming on her face. "Sayori! Welcome back into the fold!" The black haired girl released a grunt, beginning to topple over with the weight of the box.

"Whoa!" Sayori shouted, running over and catching the end up the box, steadying it and allowing Mai to regain her balance.

A wry grin formed on Mai's face, noting how Sayori was taking most of the weight of the box. "I see you still have unexplained, unnatural man-strength, despite having a diet of pancakes and cat-cupcakes."

"Believe it or not, I exercise a lot," Sayori excused, taking the box from Mai and setting it on a nearby table.

"Well, thanks for getting that weight off of my shoulders. I'll get your new permission slip to be my little teacher's aid this year," Mai laughed, heading off into the back room. "By the way, I was wonderin' if there was another guardian you have this year to sign the slip?"

Sayori immediately caught on to what Mai was asking. "Sadly no, Goro hasn't made any progress finding my parents…" Or at least, she thought that was what Mai was asking.

"Uh… I kind of figured that out already, Matsu. I get the feeling you'd be going to school at your home if your detective had made any worthwhile progress." Mai replied, a sympathetic expression on her face as she came back to the front with her slip. She blew a lock of black hair out of her face before grabbing her keyring. Using one of the keys, she sliced the tape on the box open and began sorting through the newly bought books inside, acting as if she hadn't said anything.

"Well, what were you trying to ask me?" Sayori asked, looking around for a cart to transport the books.

"Exactly what I was sayin'" Mai replied. "Not that there's any problem with getting your boyfriend to sign it, since he _is_ technically your guardian, but I remembered something last year when I handed your slip to Kobayakwa…" The black haired girl looked down at her lap, blinking rapidly and twisting her lips, feeling confused and frustrated.

Sayori frowned, not understanding what could possibly be wrong. "What did you remember that's making you so gloomy?" She took a seat across from the girl and leaned forward.

"It's probably nothing, but he got this weird look on this face. Like he was confused, which might have made sense, since you wouldn't expect 'The Second Coming of the Detective Prince,' to be the one signing a permission slip. But then… he got this weird, shit-eating smile on his face, and excused himself. Said he had to make an important phone call," Mai looked incredibly worried as she said these things, until she looked up and noticed that Sayori had gone pale.

"It probably ain't anything worth getting so wound up about!" Mai waved her hands frantically, as if trying to swat the worries out of Sayori. "Just… if you can, maybe it would be a good idea to get someone else to sign the slip? It probably won't do anything in the long run, but…" the librarian looked conflicted, silently debating to herself, before slumping over in defeat. "Actually, nevermind. It probably won't make any sense to you if I said anything else. I've just never trusted the principal all that much. Maybe it would help my nerves if there was a chance of him not findin' out that you're still with the detective that's at the top of Japan's hate list right now."

That explanation made sense, but to Sayori, it didn't seem like a full answer to Mai's nervous behavior. Still, she decided to trust the librarian's word for now and put the permission slip in her pocket. "Maybe I can get Boss to sign it or something," Sayori said, trying to sound reassuring. She failed miserably, knowing that it probably wouldn't work out.

"Who's Boss?" Mai asked suddenly, obviously looking for a change of subject. She leaned back in her chair and began to sort the unboxed books into categories, prepping for when she would put them on the bookshelves.

"We've mentioned him to you before… Haven't we?" Sayori asked, trying to recall the times when her Shujin friends had joined her in the library.

"It's been a minute, so if you did, I don't really remember," Mai replied, tapping a finger on the side of her head. "I just have a memory of a goldfish, I guess."

"Actually, Makoto mentioned the other day that goldfish actually remember things for up to two years," Sayori said, giggling as Mai seemed to shut down and grumble at that fact. However, she didn't object to that knowledge, so Sayori could only assume she didn't have a problem being called out.

"Well, that wasn't the point. Again, who's Boss?" Mai asked impatiently.

"Sojiro Sakura. He owns Leblanc and is Kurusu-kun's guardian," Sayori explained, reciting the words as if giving a speech.

"Leblanc's a cafe… right?" Mai tapped a finger on her chin, lost in what Sayori could only assume was some deep introspection. Afterall, Boss's coffee is supposedly really good, not that Sayori was allowed to try it.

Sayori nodded, only for Mai to slam her fist on a nearby table and shout what she was actually thinking.

"You should totally take Akechi there for a date!"

"Wh… What?" Sayori stuttered, blushing furiously. "What does that have to do with-"

"It has absolutely nothing to do with the stupid principal! That was the entire point!" Mai interrupted.

"Yeah, I get that… But why did you get that idea specifically?" Sayori asked.

"Akechi just seems like the type of person to like coffee. Not to mention… a date at a cafe? It's so cliche, and I love it!" Mai seemed very enthusiastic. It was almost scary how similar she was becoming, compared to when Ann got on her matchmaking streak.

 _What she's saying makes sense, in a weird way… With how much his popularity has plummeted, Goro probably needs something nice to take his mind off of things. But…_

Sayori looked at her trembling hands, waiting for the inevitable to happen. Once again, her moments of disappearing had taken a brief pause. Ever since yesterday, she had had that same feeling of constant anxiety. What if she did go on this possible date? Would it be ruined, just like the first time this stupid curse had occurred? Would the futility of this reality, of this existence, keep finding new ways to ruin her life just when she was starting to get used to it?

"I… don't know, Mai. What if-"

"Don't say 'if somethin' bad happens?' You're not some skittish deer, Sayori," Mai said, her voice suddenly low.

Sayori looked up, her mouth clapping shut. Mai looked completely serious as she strode over and put her hands on Sayori's shoulders. Instead of comforting her like last time, in that big sister sort of way, Mai violently shook her. Sayori felt like her brain was wobbling, as Mai continued to jar her, both with the shaking, and the next words out of her mouth.

"Whatever's happenin' to you wouldn't be happenin' if you couldn't handle it, because you can handle anything, Sayori!"

"I… can?" Sayori asked. "I don't know if that applies to thi-"

"It does! Believe in the Mai that believes in you!"

"O… Okay…" Sayori replied blankly, starting to feel dizzy. A second later the shaking stopped, Mai apparently satisfied with the answer she had gotten.

"Good! Then go on your date and enjoy your life! That's all you need to do right now!" Mai once again seemed ecstatic, piling the books onto a cart and rushing around the room, putting them away with practiced accuracy.

"Don't you have to put checkout tags on those first?" Sayori asked, raising a hesitant finger in the air, almost afraid of how Mai would react.

The woman stopped dead in her tracks as the statement began to process. After a few seconds, she hung her head and nodded limply. "Yeah, I do. I guess I'll go find the books so I can start doing that…" Mai began to backtrack, before looking back at Sayori and shooing her away with a hand. "You can go home now, though. You aren't an assistant librarian just yet."

Sayori smiled and took a seat at the table, making a point to not offer help. "The least I can do is keep you company."

"Is that all you're gonna do?"

"Yup!" Came the bright response.

Mai sighed, silently grumbling to herself. "I guess I deserve it. Just don't be annoyin' about it."

"Will do!"

And so the two spent the afternoon in relative peace, Mai slowly but surely doing her job, while Sayori encouragement and conversation from the sidelines. They both considered it a strange role reversal, compared to the year before.

"You keep blowing your hair out of your face, Mai," Sayori noticed, preparing to leave at the end of the day.

"Yeah. I lost my hair ribbon a while back, so I decided to just roll with the style. But now my hair is longer and more annoyin,'" Mai waved the conversation away with her hand. "It doesn't matter much, now. _You_ have a date to plan."

Sayori smiled, turning to leave. "I'll see you when school starts!"

Mai waved goodbye, knowing Sayori couldn't see her. When she was gone and the school was once again quiet, she allowed a frown to slip on. _Shit, it's not going to work… I'm sorry… But I won't be able to change this…_

Mai frowned and blinked the thought away. No matter how much she regretted it, she couldn't take it back now. She couldn't just ask for the permission slip back.

 _I'll have to hope that he'll be able to make the right choice… Please…_

* * *

One week passed. School started…

And Sayori started disappearing again. It was yet another unfortunate, startling occurrence, just barely missing Goro's notice. He had been busy preparing himself for another day of work and study, hogging the bathroom to himself. Overall, it had been their average morning. But he stepped out, straightening his tie, only to find Sayori leaning against the wall and breathing heavily, tears dripping from her eyes in a steady stream.

She imagined it must have been a bad sight for him to see, as his panicked reaction to start doting on her had been almost immediate. But there had been school and work, and now there was the "gardening club."

Still, if there was one silver lining in the restarting of her disappearances, of Goro's stress and worry for her that he didn't deserve to feel in the midst of everything else, it was that Sayori was beginning to get a grasp on what might be a pattern.

 _After we finished Futaba's Palace, I had a few weeks of peace. And then… after we went to Mementos to fulfill that request, I had a little over a week…_ Sayori thought over and over about this as she blocked attack after attack from the Shadows, going on the defensive so her friends could be on the offensive. The pattern was certainly a possibility, and she wondered what that meant for her exactly.

 _But at the same time, I wouldn't be able to say if there's really any correlation between the time we spent in the Metaverse, and the times I haven't disappeared. We made several trips to Futaba's Palace, each a few hours long, and I got only about three weeks of not disappearing. But then I make one trip into Mementos that only lasts about two hours, and get about eight days without disappearing. It seems too inconsistent…_

Sayori finally gave up on coming up with a logical explanation for the idea. The closest conclusion she could come to was that if it happened a third time, she couldn't ignore the pattern.

 _I have to figure it out though! If this really is the case, I just have to go to Mementos more often. Then my friends won't have to worry, cause I won't disappear… I won't leave them alone… any of them!_

But Sayori wasn't aware that her friends already were worried for her. She had been acting less and less like herself lately, and it was starting to worry all of them. Only two knew the reason for why this was happening, and even they were beginning to have doubts that this was the only reason.

 _Why would Sayori not tell us?_ Mona thought to himself, watching intently as Valiant fought on. _We could help her… Or maybe… she just doesn't think we could?_ It hurt the cat creature to have that thought enter his head. One of his teammates didn't have faith in him - any of them - to help her out. He found that this hurt more than any cruel or thoughtless comment that his teammates had made to him in the past.

 _Am I really that useless?_

Oracle meanwhile, was taking careful note of Sayori on her monitors, taking note of any behaviors she thought unusual. By doing so, she hoped to identify anything that could be considered a symptom. It was definitely a long shot, what she was planning to do, but she had to try her best. Taking matters into her own hands like this was embarrassing enough, but it would be mortifying if she got no results simply because she hadn't given her all.

She was going behind everyone's back, and if she got a good enough conclusion, she was going to go even more behind Sayori's back. However, Oracle honestly thought that it was fair payback. Afterall, whether Sayori had done it intentionally or she was just too dumb to consider it, she was going behind their backs too.

At the end of that day's work in Mementos, Joker took notice of his three tensed up teammates. Valiant seemed to be making an effort to stand up, panting heavily after all of the effort she had put into destroying Shadows. Mona droopy eyes and frown made the cat creature look incredibly tired, and most likely sad about something. And Oracle hadn't spoken for nearly half an hour, staying safely hidden away in her Persona and away from any of his scrutiny.

"I think after this, we'll take a break from missions for a couple of weeks," Joker decided out loud.

"Why's that?" Skull asked.

Joker hesitated for a moment, considering what to say. It probably wasn't a good idea to draw attention to the odd behavior of their three teammates, especially not right in front of them. Though Joker had a feeling the others already knew. If any of them didn't, he could explain it later, maybe in a separate chat. With this in mind, the team leader was quick to reply, "We need to slow down and take some more time to analyze the consequences of our actions. Besides, too much of this work will wear us out."

Almost everyone seemed to accept this answer. However, as soon as she processed it, Valiant was very vocal in her objections.

"No! We can't do that! What if I need to-"

"To what?" Queen interrupted, genuine curiosity in all of her face, except the eyes. They held an intense, stone gaze, attempting to break down the walls Valiant had built up and find the truth.

Valiant sighed. "It's nothing. Nevermind."

"You know… You can tell us anything-" Panther began.

 _No, I can't. Not right now._

Those thoughts entered Valiant's mind with a cold ferocity. The freezing bite to them forced a chattering and shaky smile to her face. "No, really. I'm fine. I am actually feeling tired, now that Joker mentions going home." The immediate backtracking from her previous protest only served to make the Phantom Thieves more wary.

Nevertheless, they each did as their teammates suggested, piling into a transformed Morgana and heading out of Mementos. The doubts that permeated the quiet, tense air around him made Joker grip the steering wheel. He knew that if he wasn't wearing gloves, he would find that his knuckles were white.

* * *

It was a slow, lazy day at Leblanc. Sojiro spent this time tidying the place up, keeping a close eye on the two teenagers lazing about in the front. Futaba and Akira were also making use of the day, playing card games and texting with their group of friends. Sojiro sighed, a serene smile on his face. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Akira's cat, Morgana, tilting his head curiously at him.

It had always been spooky how expressive the cat was. This was no exception, as the feline glanced in between the adult and two kids, letting out a soft sigh and tilting his head down. Sojiro was just beginning to wonder if it was possible for cats to get depression, when he overheard a few sentences of Futaba and Akira's conversation.

"How much money did Ann make off of all of your bets anyway?" Futaba asked curiously, glancing down at her small stack of cards.

"I should have never let them tell you that story… Now I'm _really_ never going to hear the end of it. I don't really want to talk about it anyway. I guess it went towards something that could be considered a good cause…" Akira looked down at his own cards, a mischievous smile forming on his face.

"Sayori's date fund?" Futaba asked curiously.

"No… It's more accurate to call it Ann Takamaki's matchmaking service. It's just that Sayori has been her only customer." Both of the teens laughed.

Sojiro raised his eyebrows. The group of friends Akira had found never seemed to talk about normal teenage things, at least not in front of him. So it was rather nice to hear it. Still…

"Are you really losing money, then?" Sojiro asked, putting the broom he had been using aside and going in to do his duty as a father figure. This duty of course, was to butt into any and all weird teenage conversations.

Akira looked over, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, it's just that if this is Sayori's dating life, it would still be benefiting you, right?" This time Sojiro smirked, waiting for the ebony haired teenager to push up his glasses and look down, a clear sign that he was flustered or embarrassed.

However, Akira only looked more confused. At the same time, Futaba seemed to flinch. Sojiro couldn't see her face, but the tips of her ears peeking out of her ginger hair had turned red, meaning that _Futaba_ was embarrassed about something.

"Uh oh…" Futaba pursed her lips and got up from the stool. "Looks like it's time for me to make like a roadrunner and meep-meep!" The girl began to hurry towards the front door of the cafe, hoping to escape from the predicament she should have seen coming.

"Wha…" Akira finally seemed to figure out what was going on, all of a sudden sitting straight up and swivelling to face the retreating Futaba. "You _traitor_ ," He said that with just enough emphasis to get Futaba to stop in her tracks, but gentle enough not to yell and unleash both Futaba's tears and Sojiro's wrath on him.

"A-Alright. I'm coming back," Futaba grinned nervously at the occupants in the room, returning to her stool and pretending like nothing had happened. She laced her fingers together and set her hands on the table, smiling as innocently as possible. "So Sojiro, I may have made a tiny mistake…"

Those were not good words for anyone in Sojiro's position to hear. He was about to send a withering glare in Akira's direction, when Futaba waved her hands and brought his attention back to her.

"It doesn't even really affect me, but it would be better for you to know so you don't suddenly sprout white hair and become a grandpa instead of a dad, because you're confused so much by a visit from Sayori and her… well…" Futaba began to spout nonsense, speaking more quickly with each word.

"Speaking of, Sayori just sent me a text saying the two of them are coming here now…" Akira pushed up his glasses, somehow able to keep a straight face as a wide, panicked smile slipped involuntarily onto her face. Adding insult to injury, he continued to read the text that appeared a moment later. "They're rounding the corner, actually. You should probably say what you want to say Futaba, before they get here in a few seconds."

"Text Sayori that she's rushing me!" Futaba snapped bitingly, starling Akira into dropping his phone. This of course, made it difficult to send any such text, and Futaba found herself with even less time to admit her error in assuming relationships.

In her panicked state, she didn't even pause to take a calming breath before rushing out an explanation. "Akira isn't Sayori's boyfriend, so you've probably had the wrong idea this entire time, because neither of them are interested in each other, because Sayori has bad taste and-"

Sojiro snapped his fingers in Futaba's face to stop her rambling. When Futaba was calm enough to look at him, he let out a small scoff. "Not like it matters. As long as Akira doesn't get into a fight with some jealous punk, it doesn't matter." That's what Futaba meant when she said Sayori had bad taste, right?

Recognizing that his slow day was about to get a bit busier, Sojiro slipped behind the counter and put on his apron. "Well, who is this guy? Any idea what coffee he would like?"

Out of the corner of his eye, the cafe owner saw Akira put up a hand as Futaba began attempting to stutter an answer. With each passing second, he put one finger down. First his thumb, then his pinkie…

When only his index finger was still up, Akira pointed to the cafe door with an admittedly over dramatic flourish. On cue, a very familiar detective opened the door and held it open for a very familiar girl.

"Hey, guys! Sorry I sent you a text on such short notice, but deciding to come here was kind of sudden too," Sayori giggled nervously as everyone else besides Goro looked at her as if she had sprouted another head on her shoulders.

Futaba froze and swivelled around to face the two, before releasing a bat-like shriek and running up the stairs to Akira's room. Morgana followed behind, lingering on the stairs for a few seconds to look at Sayori with an unreadable expression.

Akira recovered from his shock at his perfectly timed point in only a second. Without missing a beat, he joined Sojiro behind the counter and slipped on his own apron. Sojiro looked at the pair in confusion, not knowing quite what to make of anything anymore.

"Dang, Futaba. You might have broken him," Akira commented quietly, before turning to Sayori and Akechi. "Go ahead and take a seat at a booth you guys. I guess we just need to get our heads on straight right now."

"Okay, Akira," Sayori chirped, taking her confused boyfriend and leading him to a booth. "I know the rules… No coffee for me. So get me hot chocolate or tea then. What would you like to get, Goro?"

"Hm?" The detective seemed to be pulled back to the current situation, blinking rapidly for some unfathomable reason. After another few seconds, he seemed to register what he had been asked. "I'll just have what you're having, Sayori…"

"That settles it then," Sayori said with finality, before turning to Sojiro. "I know that this is a coffee place, but do you have any Plum Blossom tea, Boss?'

The detective seemed to immediately snap back into attention, looking at Sayori in worry. "I don't want to be any trouble to them, Sayori. I could also just settle for whatever is already made-"

"Nonsense," Sojiro cut him off. "Most of the time, I completely agree with the sentiment, but the customer _can_ occasionally be right. And Sayori is a valued customer. I might have some in the back… maybe…" The man retreated into looking through his shelves of coffee grounds and other supplies. He began muttering about looking for it in the back, becoming absorbed in his thoughts.

Akira went to the sink, picking out two mugs to wash. With that, Leblanc had taken on a much busier rhythm, one that he had grown used to in the months he had stayed here.

* * *

 _Why did I agree on coming here again?_ Goro Akechi asked himself silently. Sayori had mentioned that they should go on a relaxing date before school started, but he was definitely _not_ relaxed right now. It took only a second after he opened his eyes to notice so many unsettling things.

 _Futaba looked a lot like her mother did when…_ The detective didn't let himself complete the thought, knowing that Futaba hadn't been afraid of him… At least, not just him. They had just startled her. It was to be expected from such an antisocial girl.

 _Don't think about it._

Goro schooled his expression into a calm smile. It was easy with the soothing presence that Leblanc naturally radiated. All he had to do was focus on the warmth, and the smell of coffee and tea being brewed.

Through some unknown means, Sayori seemed to guess that he was uncomfortable, because she began to poke and prod him in all the places she could reach that she had pinpointed as ticklish sometime ago. It was bothersome, and almost annoying, but Sayori's brightness in such a situation was an epidemic, infecting him and almost making him forget why he was feeling like trash in the first place.

 _Because you are trash_ , a small voice whispered in his head. The detective felt green and sick at the thought, but once again, Sayori seemed to know all of the special tricks to refocus his attention on her.

Still, one fear remained. He was normally very good at hiding his thoughts, and not talking about personal things in public. However, with Sayori and the nostalgic smell building in the room, Goro knew such a natural skill would be much weaker than usual.

"So Akechi, my daughter seemed to make a small mistake earlier," Sojiro said with a small smirk, placing two mugs on the table. "And it lead me to wonder how you and Sayori know each other so well."

"Ah, I believe she and I met around the first time she met Akira. She's been staying with me for quite some time," Goro explained shortly, taking a sip of his tea so he wouldn't speak anymore.

"Yeah," Sayori confirmed. "I'm sorry if we confused you, Boss. The two of us are pretty private about our relationship, though. So it makes sense that you wouldn't know."

"Well, _he_ knew," Sojiro jerked a thumb in Akira's direction. The ebony haired boy set down the book he was reading and had the guts to look offended.

"You could have told me, Kid. It would have saved me the embarrassment of not showing them proper manners," the man said sternly.

Sojiro left the two alone to chat for a few minutes. Feeling slightly more calmed down, Goro continued sipped from his cup thoughtfully.

"Something else on your mind, Gloomy-Gus? No, wait… Gloomy-Goro," Sayori smiled sweetly at the dour look the detective sent her way.

"Yes, actually," setting down his teacup, Goro set down his mug and made stern eye contact with Sayori. "I'm expecting an important phone call soon. Perhaps in the next week, I'll receive it. Afterwards, I have to go to an important meeting to discuss some of the… unfortunate developments in my reputation."

Sayori smiled good naturedly. "This isn't the first time this has happened, Goro. As always, I'll wait at the apartment, and maybe make dinner. Thank you for letting me know, though."

"Actually, instead of doing that, perhaps it would be a better idea for you to come here after you are done with school for today. I'll come get you after I'm done with school, and when I'm done with the meeting," the brown haired boy began to slightly fidget, noticing Sayori get increasingly confused.

Before she could ask what was wrong however, she was interrupted by Futaba, who had somehow snuck up into the booth seat behind Sayori. However, since Goro's seat was closer to the stairs of the building, it seemed impossible for Futaba to do such a thing without them knowing.

"I told Sojiro we should start handing out punch cards. Then at the end of the week Sayori could get something free to celebrate becoming a regular here!" Futaba said with a surprising amount of self confidence in her idea. Sayori jumped. The statement wasn't very loud, but Futaba was very close, making it feel like the ginger-haired girl was shouting into her ear.

"Futaba, could you maybe back away? You're standing a bit too close," Sayori asked nervously, a few beads of sweat trailing down the side of her face.

"Nope. I'm here for an examination," Futaba replied with an almost too cheery tone of voice. She held up a light blue clipboard with a single sheet of paper attached. Holding up a lavender purple pen with a pink fluff ball dangling off the end, the girl gave Sayori a wide eyed stare. "Dr. Futaba Sakura M.D. is reporting for duty. I'm here to document side effects on my latest patient!"

"Eh?" Sayori asked, her mouth curling upwards in panic. "What do you mean?"

Futaba ignored her, going around the booth the couple sat at in a curve, before turning around and going back to the other end. Every few moments she'd take her pen and begin moving it around on the paper, sometimes writing something, and sometimes letting it hover a centimeter off the page, as if she was pretending to have something to write about.

After a few seconds, Goro waved, getting Sayori's questioning gaze back onto him. "I think she's just here to observe. So let's just try to carry on with our date."

"Sure…" Sayori replied tentatively. She took a sip of her own beverage and once again tried to engage in casual conversation with Goro. It felt rather awkward with Futaba's close observation, but it wasn't like it was that bad.

So instead Sayori focused on the coffee date that she had been the one to propose. In the end, she had decided to pull a fast one and get Goro the same sentimental tea that they usually had when they talked at home. After all, she knew that part of becoming friends with someone was by opening up. So it stood to reason that if Sayori could _sway_ Goro into opening up, by surrounding him with familiar things he associated with the activity, the others could get to know him better.

 _Afterall, Futaba hardly spent any time with him at the beach. Her mind was on… other things…_ Sayori thought nervously. She hadn't known that Futaba would be here today, but upon discovering she was, Sayori decided to try her idea out.

So far, she was getting no results. Goro just had that same painted on smile he always did in public. However, as always, Sayori found it easy to read his feelings with his eyes. His face was, for the most part, completely trained to not betray his emotions. Sayori had managed to catch his slip ups a lot of times, but if there was ever anyone else around, it was nearly impossible. But his eyes had a way of lighting up, of practically glowing, when he was happy.

But now they seemed dim and dark as he swirled a small spoon in his tea. Occasionally, he would glance up to make a point in their talk, and they would very briefly light up again. It was a trait Sayori had never known anyone else to have, and she was grateful that she even knew to look for it now.

But still, the fact that she had to look so hard just meant that he was still so far away from opening up. Sayori knew how much his thoughts and memories must hurt him, but she had never really known that brand of sadness. As far as she knew, she didn't even _have_ parents. She wouldn't want to tell any of her friends Goro's secrets either. Still, if she could at least do her best trying to bridge the gap, maybe she really did have a chance-

It only took her a few seconds to realize that Goro had opened his mouth and said something entirely surprising, judging by the way Akira's eyes snapped over to look at them with a composed, yet intimidating look. Futaba cocked her head in confusion, her mouth parted in surprise. And Sojiro looked downright stupefied, his own eyes wide and whatever words he wanted to say trapped in his throat. It was a far cry from the normally suave Boss, and Sayori couldn't say she liked it.

She wasn't the only one who noticed the tension in the cafe. Goro coughed as smiled weakly, looking embarrassed. "I suppose that came out of nowhere… I apologize. Sayori and I don't really get out much, so I have probably acclimated to being able to say pretty much whatever I want with her."

"Sayori wasn't paying attention though," Futaba pointed out, flashing a small smile in response to Sayori's look of betrayal.

"Ah, perhaps you are right. Sayori has heard this story before though, so it makes sense for her to tune it out. Perhaps I was merely voicing my thoughts aloud then?" The detective finished his cup of tea and glanced at the bottom of the cup absentmindedly.

"We just weren't expecting it," Akira immediately replied, attempting to play it cool. "I overheard some of your fans talking the other day. It seems to be common enough knowledge that you're an orphan."

Yet again, Sayori couldn't tell from his facial expression, but somehow she knew that under the table his hands were clenching and unclenching. They would be forming a fist before releasing it. An overwhelming want to hold his hands and see for herself if she was right appeared in Sayori's mind, but she pushed it down for the time being.

"I wouldn't say that I'm an orphan," Goro replied, and Sayori had a sad thought that she knew exactly what he would call himself. But she wouldn't bring it up now.

"Would you like foster care better?" Akira asked dismissively, walking over and taking both of their cups to refill. "I should let those girls at school know what you like being called. Not that their fantasies are any more likely to happen even if they do correct themselves…"

Akira actually seemed to be pondering the consequences of this, as if he was actually thinking about doing it.

Sayori shook her head, catching Akira's eyes. He only smirked and walked back behind the counter. Releasing a huff of annoyance at the thief leader, Sayori looked at Goro apologetically. "Sorry, but I'm afraid that I didn't actually catch what you said."

Goro opened his mouth to reply, only for Futaba to cut in. "He just mentioned that his drink reminded him of his mom, his mom dated a jerk that I think is supposed to be his dad, something self-loathing… and then he sighed a lot."

Sayori blinked a few times, trying to process the report she had just been given. Goro blushed, embarrassed by it, but nodded slightly in confirmation.

After a few moments, Sayori giggled, startling everyone. "Very observant, Futaba! It makes me wonder what you're observing about me…"

She had meant it as a joke, but Futaba seemed to take it seriously, tapping her chin and glancing at the ceiling as she relayed her information. "Well, judging by how sweaty you suddenly seem, despite the air conditioning, I think you're breathing rate has increased. You've grown about two shades paler, and your pupils look like they're about to start constricting. Do you feel any different?"

Goro looked over at Sayori in concern, despite the things that Futaba had observed not being as extreme as it sounded. Her sweating wasn't even that noticeable, feeling like a slight mist on her forehead. One shade paler wasn't much of a difference, and her pupils might just look smaller in the lighting.

 _But actually, now that she asks me that question… my throat!_ Without another word, Sayori bolted from her chair and left Leblanc. She ran as fast as she could, intending to get to the bathhouse and find a nice place to hide until her disappearing incident passed.

Inside the cafe, Goro was about to follow, feeling incredibly worried, when Futaba held out a polite arm and opened the door. He soon found that she wasn't doing it for him, but rather for Akira's cat, who ran scurrying out the door, looking quite determined from his posture.

"What exactly is going on?" Goro asked, suddenly suspicious of the girl beside him.

Futaba responded with an innocent smile, backing away and giving a welcoming gesture to the door. "It was nothing much. I just need to find something to prove a theory. Or something like that…"

"Everyone else is actually coming over here soon," Akira called helpfully from his previously abandoned stool. "So if you think we're annoying, everyone is about to crash your date."

"Maybe you two should go somewhere more private after you check on her," Sojiro suggested, giving the young detective a smirk.

"Maybe so," Goro replied, finally leaving Leblanc behind. The door shut behind him with a quiet dinging sound from the bell above, letting Sojiro know it was time to give the two kids the evil eye.

"What was all that about?"

"I was gathering research to help Sayori with something," Futaba defended herself.

Akira, meanwhile, looked dumbfounded. "I didn't do anything this time!"

"Exactly! You could have helped keep me from looking like a geezer while handling customers," Sojiro sighed in disappointment.

"Wait…" Akira went over the events that had just transpired. "They didn't even pay!"

"They forgot, which is perfectly understandable. It will be on the house this once." The tired cafe owner ran a hand through his beard, closing his eyes. "Let's get this place clean again before your friends come."

Akira nodded and went to clean off the table that Sayori and Akechi had just used. After some time of this, he looked up at Sojiro and Futaba and decided to ask what they were all thinking. "What did you think of Akechi's slip up?"

"I think I read about his mother dying online before…" Futaba trailed off, a melancholy look forming on his face. "But everything online was pretty cryptic. It kind of makes me wonder if it's the truth, or if it's just some lie some script writer came up with to make his fans like him more…"

"He's telling the truth," Sojiro said with a blank expression on his face. At the confused stare of the other two, he continued. "That story about a deadbeat dad feels like it would only make people look down on him, if it's just some fable. Besides, he seemed pretty genuine, from what I noticed."

Akira nodded in agreement. "Sayori is a good judge of character, and she seemed to believe him. So I'll believe him."

"Well, he was right when he said it came out of nowhere though," Futaba replied. "He seems like a good person for Sayori… I think. Actually, I don't really know about this stuff…" She sniffled a bit before taking a seat on one of the stools. "Still, he sucks for making me think of my own mom."

"Hm…" Sojiro silently pondered something to himself as he closed the box of tea he had managed to find. "He reminds me of something from way back when, but I can't remember what it is…"

The three continued their conversation, pausing briefly when Morgana came to the front door and knocked his paw against it. Futaba came into let the cat in and gave him a delighted squeeze. It was Sojiro who noticed the odd things clipped to the cat's collar.

Futaba, without a word, took them off and put it in her back pocket. "You did awesome, Mona!" she congratulated.

Sojiro decided to question it later, instead focusing on remembering what he had thought earlier.

* * *

Sayori still felt the same unease she always did after disappearing, and with the possibility of it happening again very soon, the best place to go right now was back home. She had told Goro as much, and he completely agreed.

So side by side, with their fingertips brushing over each other's occasionally, the two made their way to the subway. Sayori wouldn't have minded cutting to the chase and simply holding hands. Afterall, they had been much more affectionate in public before without repercussions, but she got the distinct feeling that Goro wouldn't appreciate it at the moment.

It was nothing personal. But with summer break nearly over, the streets were even more crowded than usual, filled with people rushing around to get very last minute school supplies. Still, despite the fast paced ways of the crowd around them, they all seemed to have plenty of time to pause and stare at the detective, whispering among themselves. A few of them were the loyal fangirls and fanboys that whispered giddily about seeing him, but there were so many others whose stares turned into glares and dark muttering.

Goro was the picture of oblivious, waving and smiling at every single one of the people who had noticed them. Sayori had done much of the same thing at school, but left a cold feeling in her stomach when the more hateful of their observers turned away from his politeness and began grumbling their thoughts even more loudly.

 _It's probably a miracle that none of them have gotten more vocal… or more physical,_ Sayori thought with a shudder. She scooted closer to him, wishing that in some way she could help him get out of this situation faster. She wanted to protect him, like all of the times he had protected her. Except for maybe the exact way he had protected her at the beach. Despite just having had a drink at Leblanc, Sayori's mouth was too dry to spit anyway.

But that was besides the point.

Thinking about it, Sayori figured that keeping up conversation might be a good way to go. So she lightly tugged on his jacket sleeve and smiled at him when he looked over at her. "So what do you think you'll be discussing at the next meeting?"

Goro flinched and shook his head, looking an odd mix of confusion and sadness. "I'm not really sure. Probably what happens next. Now that Medjed has been defeated, I imagine we'll have to sort out which interviews I should actually go to…" Sayori thought there was more he could say, but the detective stubbornly kept his mouth shut.

Still, scheduling seemed like a reasonable thing to talk about. Goro's days were usually busy. He'd stop by the police station in the morning, go to school, and then go to the police station once more. Then there were also the interviews he had to attend regularly, with barely enough free time in between.

Yet, the mention of Medjed brought another issue to Sayori's mind. She still remembered the suspicious phone call he had made before Medjed had made their move. Now that Futaba had confirmed the crackers to be posers, and with her own suspicions growing, Sayori knew there had to be more to this meeting than she knew at the moment.

 _Maybe he's meeting with the cop, or whoever it was, that was on the phone?_ Sayori wondered. _Well, it doesn't matter much, anyway. Whatever Goro learns, I just have to be there to stop anything bad from happening…_

"Is Sae going to be a part of the meeting?" Sayori asked idly. Sae was with the police, and Goro was pretty close with her. Maybe if this was the case, she could talk to Sae about-

Goro snorted, shaking his head with an amused smile. "No, Sae isn't part of the campaign I'm in. It's a bit of a relief actually. All of the people that are a part of it are an unpleasant bunch."

"Odd choice of words," Sayori commented. "You're not unpleasant afterall."

"Think what you want, Sayori. I'm simply hoping that soon enough I can stop associating myself with them as much," Goro replied, a conflicted look on his face as he said those words.

Sayori nodded, deciding to drop the subject and think of something else to talk about. At the very least, they had both been sufficiently distracted, unnoticing of the gossip and criticism around them. They were now entering the underground walkways. All they had to do now was find the subway that would take them home and be on time.

"You'll be going on the Hawaii trip, right?' Goro asked, his voice sounding slightly unsure. Sayori glanced back up at him, noting that he was still composed as ever. The question had seemed loud in her ears, but he had most likely only whispered it.

"Why? Can you not pay for it? Or is it just because you'll miss me so much?" Sayori replied with a teasing voice.

"No. Actually, I want you to go," the detective replied. "Maybe travelling so far would jog your memories somehow. I'm not sure, to be honest."

"Oh?" Sayori knew that the idea would have sounded appealing to her, if not for the fact that she already knew the truth. With her current limitations, it was almost impossible to actively search for a way home, so she decided to simply enjoy herself here while she could. She rarely even felt homesick. The only time she ever felt anything like it was when she worried about Natsuki, Yuri, and Monika. But she was safe here, so they had to be safe too. They had to be!

"Well, if you think that, it would probably be worth going. Are you sure it wouldn't be too much for you to pay? Besides, I'd worry that you'd get lonely," Sayori replied, knowing that with the way the summer had gone, she didn't want to leave Goro alone like that again.

"We'll just call often if you're so worried about it. But I'd much prefer that you go," Goro replied.

"Well, it will happen rather soon, won't it? I may not be able to go at this point…"

"I've already taken care of it," the detective replied.

"What?" Sayori paused in the long hallways, conveniently stopping by the subway they needed to get on. "Why even bother asking me, then?"

"It was my way of easing you into it," Goro replied cheekily. He entered the subway and took a seat, patting the one next to him so Sayori wouldn't end up standing.

"Well… I guess I needed more opportunities to wear my dress," Sayori said with a sigh, taking the seat. The car began to fill up, leaving everyone pressed together and uncomfortable.

"Thank you for agreeing, Sayori. I know you'll have a lot of fun with all of your frie-" Goro was cut off as Sayori leaned her head on his shoulder, giving not a care for the people who could be watching them.

"If I'm going to have to go away on a trip, we should spend a lot of time together until then. Don't you agree?" Sayori asked with a small, innocent expression. On the inside though, she was congratulating herself on making the detective struggle so much to remain composed. If she had known this was all it took to break down his guise in public, she would have done it sooner, and more frequently.

The train ride home was long and boring. Being stuck in the same position for so long left them both with cramps and aches. When the vehicle finally stopped at their location, they let everyone else leave before standing up and stretching out. They quickly left before others could start boarding, rushing all the way to the apartment building. It was a nice way to loosen their stiff limbs.

The lobby was full of the people that were also living there, bringing in grocery bags full of school supplies and other commodities. Leblanc, Sayori imagined, would become even busier as people finished their shopping sprees. Hopefully the other Phantom Thief members weren't giving him and Akira a hard time.

Not bothering to dwell on it for too long, Sayori and Goro quickly walked up a flight of stairs to the door closest. They quickly entered and began the familiar motions of making dinner and preparing for bed. Sayori began to feel the same hiccup building up, knowing that they had come home just on time. She excused herself to the bathroom, grabbing a towel from her things. She may as well do something while she waited for this odd occurrence to run its course. It was always terrifying the moment she disappeared, but at the very least, Sayori had begun to calm down before it happened. As long as nobody would be able to see, she knew she would just accept it. It would be just like every other unfortunate confusion that was entering her life.

 _Let's hope this is the last one,_ Sayori thought to herself, stepping into the shower fully clothed and closing the curtain behind her. After about a minute of waiting in anticipation, Sayori wondered if she had mistook the feeling. She was just reaching for the shower curtain, stepping over the edge of the tub, when the same pain and shock coursed through her. Sayori gasped, tripping over the edge. The only thing that stopped her from splitting her head open was her fast hands, gripping onto the shower curtain for all they were worth.

After a full minute of shuddering and gasping, Sayori eased herself out of the tub and quietly resumed what she was doing. She would wait until she was in the shower to let the sad and terrified tears fall down her face.

* * *

Goro was relieved when Sayori finally stepped out of the bathroom. He was initially going to smile at her, but it turned into a grimace when he noticed her sad sunken eyes, rimmed red with tears, and the heavy frown that seemed stuck on her face. He wondered what could be making her so sad, and thought about whether or not there was something he needed to apologize for.

Her frown seemed to disappear as she took a seat across from him at the small kitchen table, looking at the plates he had set out. It wasn't as reassuring as Sayori thought it was. They ate in silence, Goro wondering to himself if he really should make the choice he was about to make.

It had been easy to decide when he was alone. The two had had a lot of awkward and sad nights in the past few weeks, one of them always going to bed without even so much as a glance at the other. It made him feel like a jerk when he had first done it. He already felt like a villain most days, when everyone in the stupid campaign, and his oblivious fans kept telling him he should feel like a hero. He didn't want to add jerk to the list.

Reviewing it in his head, Goro decided that he still didn't want that. He was nearly done with his plate, so he quickly got up to rinse it in the sink and went to the living room to sit on the couch.

He waited until Sayori joined him, before turning towards her with the same intense stare that she could easily interpret by now.

"What is it?" she asked, more awake then she had been before. After a few moments of hesitation, she finally gave into the small need she had felt all day and grabbed his hands, squeezing them to try to reassure him.

"You're right. We should spend a lot of time together before you leave…" _Before you learn how awful I really am._

Goro shook his head of the increasingly harsh intrusive thoughts. He couldn't give into the self loathing now. This wasn't just for Sayori, this was for him too. "I don't want to look back on my time with you with any more regret than I deem necessary."

Sayori looked confused, and more than a bit troubled with his statements. But at this point, fear and more than a bit of anger at himself were dictating what words he was saying. It really was unfortunate that the few relationships he did have weren't only run by the happiness and love that a lot of other people ran their relationships with. But if he was going to have any chance of getting the things he wanted from this pathetic life of his, he had to roll with the punches.

"We've kissed plenty of times already, but I want to do it plenty of times more. Before…" He couldn't complete his sentence, because at this point he didn't even know what he wanted to say. So instead he made one last effort to clear his mind and calm his words. "So if it's alright with you…"

Whatever he was going to say after that was replaced with a sigh of contentment, because Sayori always seemed to catch on supernaturally fast to the signs he allowed himself to reveal. It seemed to be an instinct for her, locking lips as soon as it was clear that was what both of them wanted. For the first few seconds they found themselves completely engaged in that first contact. However, the difference in their height allowed them plenty of options to get even more deeper.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned back on the couch, allowing Sayori much more comfort compared to before, when she had to lean her head back. It might have only been slight, but this was much better. Besides, he much appreciated the ability to wrap his arms around her, to trace lazy circles on her back, and to play with her hair the way she was currently doing to him.

Sayori didn't even seem to be registering the changes in gravity, completely focused on the task at hand. She was completely invested in hearing the sighs and hums from kissing, and the occasional moan from running her fingers through his hair.

Anything he could do would pale in comparison, so instead Goro focused on grabbing the edge of the blanket and pulling it over the both of them. This was always as far as they went. Kissing and cuddling without ever shedding anything off. That was fine with both of them. They weren't interested in anything else at the moment.

After a long time of her giving her all into every single contact between them, Sayori finally came up for air and leaned her face into Goro's neck, allowing both of them a moment more to think.

Goro didn't want to think about anything else, but he knew that he would always have to. For once his more hateful thoughts towards himself were silent, and he could simply wonder in peace. While he still could, he wanted to make Sayori happy. Time was probably running out for him, and right now he saw no way out.

 _Simply killing Shido would never work. Everyone in the organization would immediately suspect me. I'd be dead within a week. Running away would have the same results. The only thing I can do is go for some of the original plan and bring him to justice…_

Ever since he had left Futaba's Palace, he had found time to try to think of a way out. In every single instance, he found himself dead or arrested or in an even more miserable existence than he had been in the past, probably wishing that he was dead. And in every single case, the knowledge of how afraid and lonely he would be lingered with him.

He looked down at the girl who was now sleeping peacefully. He had asked himself the question thousands of times, even before he knew Futaba Sakura even had a Palace. What would she think of him when he was revealed. Right now she had a calm, content smile on her face as she leaned on him and wrapped her arms around his neck. What would she look like when she found out.

 _She'd be afraid, angry, and probably disgusted… with you and herself for ever getting this close_ … Once again, Akechi was glad they had always only gone so far.

Whatever was going to happen when he met with Shido next, the detective reminded himself that all of this bliss and happiness could be gone in a second. With that same fear, and that same anger at himself and at Shido, Goro Akechi settled himself into bed to try and enjoy what he still had.

* * *

It was nearly a week later when he got the call. Goro had been on his way home when his phone started ringing, and upon seeing who was calling, he immediately turned around. It was annoying, but sadly unavoidable. He would call a taxi when the call hung up, but until then he would have to walk so he wouldn't get distracted.

Of course, it was just his luck that the SIU Director would be the one to call him. The man had a habit of talking someone's ear off. Goro had always figured he just liked the sound of his own voice. Still, the detective would agree that he had been similar. He still acted that way in public of course, but at least in the privacy of only talking to Sayori or her friends, he was usually free to simply not talk at all.

So it just made it all the more tiring that the SIU Director was not nearly as short with his talk. Goro was relieved when he finally heard a "Don't be late," on the other end before he was met only with empty air.

He quickly called a cab and politely asked to be taken to the Diet Building. Luckily, this driver seemed to take note of the slight urgency in his voice and navigated the quickest way, dodging traffic with practiced ease. When they arrived in front of the large building, Goro quickly paid his fare and stepped out of the vehicle. Walking through the large building, he couldn't help but compare it to the Palace that it helped to perpetuate.

He arrived at the waiting area near Shido's office with more than enough time. It was going to be a private meeting today, thankfully. Goro could only be thankful that it hadn't been Shido who called. However, it soon occurred to him that this might be the case because of whatever Shido was preparing to meet with him about. If that was the case, he should probably be worried.

It took ten minutes for the secretary to finally announce that Shido was ready to see him. This would mean that Shido was the one who was late. Though Goro would sooner bite off his own tongue, than say such a thing in front of the diabolical man.

Feeling more than a little nervous, he stepped towards the door slowly, noting the tired secretary out of the corner of his eye. He wondered just how much of the worn expression came from a self inflicted lack of sleep, and how much came from something- _someone_ \- else keeping her awake at night.

He banished the thought as soon as he creaked the door open, walking calmly into the room and setting his briefcase by the plain wooden chair and taking a seat. He was long aware of the calculating, cold eyes that followed his every move long before he made contact with them.

"It's been some time since you needed a private meeting like this," Goro decided to remark. "What do you need me for this time?" He decided to flash a grin, aware that Shido was not at all happy to see him.

"It's an extra precaution. Members of our campaign have gotten their hearts stolen in the past. This is frightening some of the sheep into straying from the flock," Shido explained coldly. "I can only trust my most loyal members, and nobody else can be allowed to hear."

Goro nodded, keeping himself composed despite the rapid pounding in his heart. Did Shido know he was one of those sheep? _No! There's no way he could know… This is normal, so just breathe…_ The detective calmed himself as he chose his next words. "I assume this meeting is to discuss these troublesome sheep?" _In this analogy, he probably compares me to a sheep dog,_ he thought wryly to himself in order to keep himself from losing his composure.

Shido nodded, taking a few photos from a yellow folder and setting them on the desk. "A few sheep in particular. You'll need to take care of them for me before they get too far."

Goro looked at the three pictures set before him, surprised to see all of them. _Kobayakawa, Okumura, and the SIU Director…_ He could understand Kobayakawa. The principal had been growing skittish lately, and it probably wouldn't be long until he tried to betray them. But Okumura was as steadfast as ever, as was the SIU Director. In the past, they had even requested Akechi's services as well.

"I assume your confusion has to do with these two?" Shido asked.

Goro allowed himself a moment to hesitate, before nodding slowly. Shido seemed happy enough to explain, flashing him a smirk that made the hitman slightly flinch. But it was only slight, because he couldn't show any hesitation. He hadn't done that since after his first hit, when he had learned just exactly what he could do to someone's heart. That was the first and last time, besides now, he had expressed doubts.

"Simply put, Okumura is the next step in our plan to catch the Phantom Thieves. We've already begun manipulating the Phantom Thieves Aficionado Website. When they reach the peak of their popularity, and change Okumura's heart, you'll be right there to pull the rug from underneath them," Shido seemed proud of his plan, and Goro was growing more nervous as he followed the path of the plan, and where it lead.

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall," The detective remarked, faking a similar evil smirk to the man in front of him. "And I assume the SIU Director is afterwards, as insurance that we won't be sold out?"

"Clever as always, Detective Prince," Shido praised, and Goro couldn't stop the surge of dopamine that entered his brain. It was like an automatic response that had been drilled into him, and he had to remind himself of his hatred of the man to keep himself seeing even remotely clearly.

"Thank you, sir," Goro replied. "Kobayakawa is my top priority at the moment, right? When would you like me to take him out?" As long as he had a set date, he could use his time to plan accordingly. Maybe he could think of something to do in that time…

"You just need to keep an eye on him and decide that for yourself. You have a month. If he looks like he is about to go to the authorities, then you know what to do," Shido explained.

Goro internally cursed. He would have to decide when to do it, and if Kobayakawa went to the police because the detective wasn't paying attention, then he would be blamed.

 _That just means I'll have to be careful and think quick. If nothing else, maybe I can fake an injury just as he's about to go to the authorities? No, that's stupid. It wouldn't work anyway…_ The detective was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't realize Shido was waiting for a response.

Growing impatient, the man slammed his fists down onto his desk, shocking the detective out of his reverie. "I expect you to answer when I say something to you! Got it?!"

"G-Got it." Goro replied, not liking the struggle it took to say something. "I was just thinking how best to get the job done," he lied.

Shido seemed to calm down after that, sighing in disappointment. "This should be an easy job compared to what you've done in the past. Kobayakawa is already so obvious about his plans to betray us… I can only imagine you're thinking so hard about this because you enjoy it." He made sure to give a pointed glare in the detective's direction, letting him know that he expected a response.

Goro's clammy hands were folded neatly in his lap, which was good on his part because nobody could know how nervous he was at a meeting he had once been comfortable attending. "Of course I would enjoy weeding out all of the obstacles in our path," he replied confidently. "Any menace that stands in our way doesn't deserve to live. Not Kobayakawa, not Okumura and the SIU Director, and definitely not the Phantom Thieves!"

He shouted it with so much conviction that he couldn't help but be startled by himself. When he had calmed down enough, he noticed that Shido was once again looking at him with that same smirk that Goro hated so much. He would have liked to smack it off his face one day, but right now he needed Shido to dismiss him before he could indulge in such vengeful thoughts.

"Good. I'm glad you've kept our goals in mind. Kobayakawa actually mentioned something interesting to me right before he got cold feet," Shido said with disinterest. "I was actually worried that he might have a point…"

Goro felt his stomach twist into several knots. What could Kobayakawa possibly have to say against him? Unless…

 _But I swore him to secrecy!_ Goro thought to himself in panic. Whatever Shido said next would be because of Kobayakawa, so the detective paid close attention, knowing he could use whatever information he could get his hands on.

"There was another reason I wanted to have a meeting in private today. I couldn't have any curious ears hear something they weren't supposed to, just in case a wandering sheep got any bad ideas about leaving," Shido said casually. The man quickly got out a sheet of paper, one that Goro recognized from months before.

 _The permission slip! How did Kobayakawa even see it? I thought only the librarians needed to see it!_ Goro began thinking back to all of the other things had his signature on it that the damned school principal had kept track of.

"You haven't been doing a good job of keeping your roommate a secret, yet you've never bothered to mention her to me during our long calls where you could have been spied on," Shido commented. "Any particular reason why/'

"I figured it wasn't important enough for you to know about," Goro replied quietly. There was one thing Shido absolutely could not know about. If Shido knew about it, then it was all over.

Surprisingly, the detective never knew a word about it, though he heard plenty of other things.

"There's no room for doubt in this campaign."

"I won't hesitate to get rid of the ones abandoning the flock."

"You're smart, Goro Akechi. Don't let something so trivial get in the way of your goal of becoming a hero."

Goro took all of these things in stride. Every single one of them was like a knife in his back, but he couldn't lose his composure. As long as Shido didn't suspect Sayori of knowing things she shouldn't know, or being involved with the enemy, it would be safe.

 _Please don't mention the Phansite post!_

"Lastly, I want you to keep in mind everything we've discussed today. And keep your little flame under control. The cleanup crew should have no problem snuffing it out for you if it gets out of hand."

Goro gave a nod in understanding, somehow managing to give him a smile of assurance. "We've been working together for a long time. It hurts how much you still don't trust me. Don't worry. I wouldn't let such an unimportant girl get in the way of your glorious goals."

Shido smiled wickedly, probably not even aware that what he thought was the future face of Japan would make babies cry. The bald man made a shooing motion with his hand, to which the detective gladly obliged.

Goro left the Diet Building as quickly as he could, wanting to get home as soon as possible. He called another taxi and gave directions to the apartment. In the back of his mind, he remembered that Sayori was expecting him to walk her home from Leblanc. As the taxi began driving at a leisurely place, he sent a quick text, asking Sayori if she could get home on her own.

He wouldn't get a reply until a couple hours later, a clear sign that she was not, in fact, at Leblanc, but at a different place entirely.

* * *

"Good job today," Akira said after leaving Mementos. Sojiro had been downstairs at the time, far enough away to avoid being sucked in with them, so once again the group decided to take a request.

"We've made a lot of progress, Morgana," Futaba shouted, jumping onto Akira's bed and bouncing on it happily, spilling the boy's pillows onto the ground. "You must be really happy, right?"

The cat seemed unsure how to respond. "I would probably be more excited if we knew exactly how big it is. For all we know we could be moving at a snail's pace."

"Ah, lighten up," Ryuji commented. "We all did good today, and soon enough we'll get to celebrate our hard work by going to Hawaii!"

"Not all of us are going to Hawaii though," Yusuke said, reminding them that he was going somewhere else entirely, and that Futaba and Morgana would be staying in Japan."

"It kind of sucks that you forgot to fill out the room assignments form, Sayori," Ann said. "You, Makoto, and I all could have shared a room." She took one of the chairs near the meeting table and slumped over in it.

"Wait, there was a room assignments sheet?" Ryuji asked, eyes wide in panic. When everyone nodded he sighed and closed his eyes tightly. "Damnit. Akira and I could have gotten a room together! What if I get stuck with someone totally lame?" he whined.

"You know you can check who you get, right?" Makoto asked, causing Ryuji to brighten as he got out his phone to do just that.

"Who do you have, Sayori?" Yusuke asked, tilting his head curiously, causing his long bangs to tilt slightly, despite evidently being gelled.

"Uhh," Sayori got out her phone and went to the trip information page. "Okumura, Haru," She read aloud.

"Oh, I know her. Hopefully you'll have a good time rooming with her," Makoto commented.

"Yeah, I hope so," Sayori agreed, noticing that she had gotten another notification. "I just got a text from Goro. He wants me to get myself home in… two hours ago!" Sayori jumped up into the air and ran down the stairs, shouting a hasty goodbye to Sojiro, followed by the door loudly slamming behind her.

"She had the right idea. The subways are going to stop running for the night," Makoto said, checking the time on her phone.

"We're all too tired to walk, so it would be wise to leave," Yusuke agreed. With that, everyone but Akira, Futaba, and Morgana got up and left, going a lot slower in their farewells.

After a quick round of video games, Futaba left Akira to get ready for bed. She went down the stairs to see Sojiro looking frustratingly down at a familiar box of tea.

"Sojiro, are you still obsessing over that?" Futaba whined. "You're going to worry yourself sick, old man."

"I'm not that old," Sojiro replied, smirking. "I'm young at heart at least. Besides, if it's nagging at me this much, it could be important."

Futaba went over and lifted the box up to her face, reading the words on the back with slowly widening eyes. "I know this poem. Sayori gave it to me a little while ago. She said that Akechi wanted me to have it."

"Yeah. It reminds me of someone your mother and I knew. And something about the way that detective held himself. It's honestly too familiar to be a coincidence," Sojiro remarked.

"Was it a girl or a boy? If it was a boy, would you say he was a jerk?" Futaba asked. "He talked a lot about that once he took a sip of this stuff. Actually, is there some alcohol in this, because he was really chatty compared to the beach trip." She began looking at the ingredients listed on the side of the box as Sojiro seemed to come to a realization.

"No, it was a woman. She was Wakaba's intern, I think. A close friend too, from what I could tell. Wakaba dragged her along when the three of us, and a few friends, went to parties and bars, and places like that… What was her name?" Sojiro began to wrack his brain even harder than before.

"I can look it up. If she was an intern under Mom, I could probably find a record online or something…" Futaba theorized. Then again, if this was like her mom's research, it could also be just as impossible to find.

"No need for that. I think I know what's going on," Sojiro said, shocking Futaba. "We can just ask the detective when he comes here again. He's come here for coffee before, afterall. He even played chess with Akira once or twice."

Futaba threw her arms up in exasperation. "Why don't either of you tell me anything? If I'm not needed, then I guess I'll just go to bed." Overdramatically, Futaba left and slammed the door behind her.

Sojiro sighed. He wondered about Futaba sometimes. He decided he would check in on her later, after she had calmed down.

For now though, he thought back to the memories that he had finally unburied. He had just opened Leblanc when Wakaba had started visiting, a mousy looking young woman trailing behind. Even as Wakaba would tell her embarrassing stories about Sojiro, she would always have that same gentle, shy smile on her face, nodding along with the story politely. She had been pleasant and calming to be around, and Sojiro could understand why Wakaba was such close friends with her.

He could see clearly in the way that the detective held himself, with his hands folded primly in his lap and his posture kept perfect, that he was trying to imitate the woman. Still, his smile, though convincing, was certainly forced. He could distinctly remember that a few days before Wakaba stopped bringing her that the woman's smile was also forced. After that, Wakaba came in, crying that the woman had quit her internship, and dropped out of college.

Sojiro had wondered why that had happened at the time, but only now did he have a possible explanation.

"Guess I'll have to look into it," he said to himself, walking over to the door and heading out into the night air. He flipped the sign from Open to Closed, saving Akira the trip down the stairs.

Sojiro sighed, wondering if what he thought he knew was true, or if it was some sad coincidence.

* * *

" _The principal handed you the means for his death…" The voice softly whispered in his ear. Goro awoke to find himself in the same place as before, unable to see whoever had said that to him, but somehow able to tell they were sitting next to him, watching him._

" _He chose to give that wicked man one more thing to hold over your head, and now he's about to pay the ultimate price… Ironic, isn't it?"_

 _Goro shook his head. He didn't want this, not anymore. The need for revenge- for justice, still burned brightly inside him, but she didn't deserve to be used as some cruel motive for murder._

" _I sense the doubts in you beginning to form again. Perhaps splitting you up wasn't as effective as that monster first thought. I should let that other girl know. She's been keeping a close eye on everything, but even she probably doesn't know about this…"_

 _A violet flash caught the detective's eye in the corner of the rotting cell he sat in. All too soon that voice was gone, leaving Goro alone… Alone with the monster._

* * *

 _For once, Sayori could actually see her dream. Sitting in a field filled with various and sweet smelling flowers, it was as if she had fallen right into a fairytale. Still, despite the beauty of it, Sayori knew that if she really was supposed to be a fairytale princess, the ivory covered walls that surrounded her were the cage she needed to escape from._

" _Escape from your own cage, and rescue the poor lost prince from his own," A playful voice remarked. It was a voice Sayori had never heard before._

" _He's trapped, so go down to the Underworld, go down to Hell and save him," it continued on helpfully._

 _Sayori looked all around her, but saw no one. Yet she knew someone was there. She glared in frustration._

" _I guess that sounds unfair though, doesn't it? Ooh! Maybe you could save each other! That would be fun!"_

 _Sayori was starting to find the dream voice annoying, and said as much. "Stop bothering me!"_

" _I'm bothering you?" Though Sayori couldn't see it, she knew that whoever was speaking to her was tilting their head in mock confusion. "That's so hurtful! And I've been with you for so long, fighting those horrid battles while all you did was run around and fiddle with your mask! I've adapted, you see?"_

" _Huh? But you sound nothing like Psyche!" Sayori shouted._

" _You'll find out just who I am when you evolve. You aren't that far!" With a giggle, the voice faded away, and Sayori found herself alone in her beautiful prison, even more confused than before._

 **I hope you guys like the chapter! Not much to say at the moment because I'm tired. So please read, review, and I'll see all of you next time!**


	48. Chapter 47

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

"Are you sure you have everything?" Goro asked for the thirteenth time that morning. Sayori blearily rolled her eyes. She was honestly too tired and preoccupied with her own nervousness to put up with her boyfriend's fretting, especially when they both knew he was only asking because the real questions he wanted to ask simply couldn't be said.

"The time to ask me that would have been at the apartment," she replied, patting the seat of the moving cab they were sitting on. They couldn't check now anyway, because the old suitcase Goro had lent her was currently being stored in the trunk.

"I know that… You can never be too sure though," the detective said. In truth, he was looking for any excuse he possibly could to keep talking to her, for multiple reasons. The faraway look in Sayori's eyes as she thought about something that was troubling her was, for once, a smaller worry. It was no match for the inexplicable terror that he was trying so desperately to hide.

"I guess that's true," Sayori trailed off, thinking once more back to the distractions that plagued her. The strange, repeating dream she had been having for what seemed like an eternity would have been her main concern, had it not been for her most recent group project as a Phantom Thief.

All week they had been going into Mementos, fulfilling requests, determined not to slack off before they went on their school trip. The Phantom Thieves were now one of the media's main focuses, afterall. While this would normally be seen as a blessing, putting another pause in Sayori's troubling new habit of disappearing in a blink, it was made uncomfortable by the new questions Joker had decided to ask the Shadows during the Hold-Ups.

" _Have you seen Black Mask?"_

" _What does Black Mask look like?"_

" _Who is Black Mask?"_

On and on, each of them made Sayori more and more uneasy as her suspicions kept being pulled to the forefront of her mind. The criminal was supposed to be an enigma to her, just like it was for everyone else. Yet, everyday Sayori felt the probability of her terrifying theory getting higher. She wanted to think she was just being paranoid, but the water keeping her theory afloat was getting too high. Soon there would be too much proof that she would be forced to tell her comrades about it…

After a long time of wallowing in her worries, Sayori became more and more aware that the object of both her suspicions and her affections was sitting less than a foot away in the dirty taxi they shared. Sayori was about to leave for Hawaii, leaving him all alone. Even if it was for less than a week, the thought of leaving Goro by himself for so long was distressing enough to temporarily break her away from her worries about his intentions.

 _Even now, I'm leaving him alone!_ Sayori thought in horror. She had been ignoring him during the only time they would truly have together until the trip to Hawaii was over with. Looking at the uncomfortable, worried expression on Goro's face all but confirmed that he must be thinking the same thing. Putting barely any more thought into it, Sayori reached out and wrapped his hand tightly in her own.

The way the detective jumped slightly in surprise made Sayori think, just for a second, that he hadn't really been expecting it at all. He seemed to be brought out of a stupor. After a second to collect himself, Goro looked at their interlaced hands and then into Sayori's eyes. "What's this for?" he asked with a tight smile.

"We'll call everyday, just like we promised… So please don't get lonely and gloomy-gussy while I'm gone," Sayori said sweetly. She wasted no time in scooting over until there was hardly any space between them. Keeping the taxi driver in mind, Sayori gave Goro a fleeting kiss on the cheek and hugged his arm. It wasn't as cozy as she would have liked, but it was enough to fluster the poor boy.

"Sayori… The… That's not…" Goro was quick to silence himself. It was at times like these that he found it highly possible that Sayori just did these things to get him to confess the many secrets he had that he kept for her-for everyone's-safety. Still, this secret was one that he could not tell her. There were absolutely no circumstances he could think of where he would benefit from telling Sayori what he was going to do while she was gone.

"Goro… You don't have to lie to me… Or keep things from me," Sayori whispered, knowing only he would be able to hear it. The taxi driver didn't seem interested anyway, but if this could be a possible turning point for her theories and suspicions, it would do a lot more good to be quiet about it. At this point while she was definitely still frightened about what she might discover, there was still the small voice inside telling her to follow her heart, no matter how cliche it was. _Maybe it's the dating simulator part talking or something, but it feels too real not to hold weight…_

 _But I have to, because I don't want anyone else to hurt you, or trick you, or use you… I've already done enough of that…_ Goro thought guiltily to himself. Sayori was too sweet, too intoxicating, and definitely too addicting. Common sense should have told him a long time ago to cut her away before Shido did… _before I did this to myself_.

 _I dug my grave… so I may as well lay in it,_ the detective thought wryly to himself. He allowed himself to lean back, tilting his head to rest on the side of Sayori's own. He could feel her grip tightening as she relaxed her head too.

It was a nice way to relax and find comfort. For a brief moment Goro even found himself forgetting that in a few days, he was once again going to have to dirty his hands with the blood of yet another person.

 _Wash, rinse, and repeat. First Kobayakawa, and then Okumura, and then, finally, the SIU Director…_

Although Sayori still felt happy and safe like the way they were now, the natural wariness that had taken root inside of her months ago made it easy not to get lost in the sensation of comfort. This was how she saw, even before the detective, that they were getting close to the airport. Through the front window she briefly saw a few street signs that listed nearby buildings of interest, and in the sky she could see planes getting bigger and bigger as they landed on the ground. The nervous pit in her stomach grew, because Sayori had never been on a plane before.

 _I face danger almost every day, and yet I'm afraid of getting on an airplane…_ It was silly, but still reasonable enough in Sayori's mind to warrant the nervous gulp, not to mention the sudden tense and sweaty palms that alerted Goro to her distress. She felt the warmth leave the side of her head as he sat up and stretched slightly, relieving muscles that had never been sore and blinking away the sleepiness that had never possessed him.

After a few seconds of this, Sayori felt him squeeze her hand to get her attention, and looked over. She immediately gaped in surprise, noticing his intense gaze that dissolved into a small smile. Even though he definitely wasn't tired, the worried creases that marred his skin in some areas suggested otherwise. The sight of it gripped Sayori with the insistent urge to know what could possibly make him so anguished. More than anything, she wanted to help carry his burdens just like he did for her.

"Sayori…" Goro began. From the way his breath hitched slightly, Sayori thought that he might be scared of something. The detective's eyes seemed to flick this way and that way, avoiding her eyes, as if there was something else that could give him a sign that he should dare speak.

 _But the only sign you should need is to see me… If you need help, I'll help you…_ She didn't know how she would do that, but she wanted- no, she _needed_ to try.

After a few moments of deliberation, the detective finally seemed to make a decision. He looked deep into her eyes, unyielding and determined, and began again. "Sayori… Are you…"

Sayori felt her anticipation grow as he took his question slowly. She didn't even care as the taxi began to slow down near the entrance of the airport. He just needed to take one small step forward and she could find out what she needed to know. They trusted each other… So the simple act of confiding in her once again wouldn't be too difficult.

"Are you… sure you packed everything?"

Sayori's hopeful train of thought came to a halt just as the taxi finally stopped. The driver's words were not capable of processing in her head as she felt a sorrow that made her lip quiver. The only thing that kept her from actually crying was the defeated glance in Goro's eyes.

There was no need for her to be disappointed when he was already disappointed in himself.

Sayori repeated that to herself over and over again as she nodded, giving Goro a small smile of her own. A few minutes passed as the detective paid his fees to the driver, prompting him to pop the trunk open. Sayori flashed the man a polite smile as Goro, chivalrous as ever, opened the door of the cab and held out a hand. The two went over to the opened trunk and grabbed the girl's luggage.

Sayori felt, as she watched the taxi disappear among the numerous other cars that appeared in front of her, that she might be at an impasse. As always, she was moving towards the inevitable ending of the game she had been placed in, but it all felt pointless.

 _I've probably made more progress in my relationship with Goro than anyone else, but what point is there if I can't help him the way he's helped me out of trouble?_

Only a moment of thinking this passed her by, before a warm weight in her hand banished those thoughts. Lacing his fingers through hers, Goro lead Sayori into the airport with a no-nonsense rhythm to his steps. He seemed to understand that for whatever reason, she was incredibly nervous, because after they made it into the building, he made sure that he matched her pace, making sure there was only a few inches of space between them at any given moment.

Of course, it should be obvious that at this point, the detective was taking these measures more for himself than for Sayori. Keeping her close, until she could get on her plane and far enough away, while Akechi was performing bitter work was a small form of comfort. He kept his eyes peeled for her classmates, or her teacher, making sure to keep Sayori moving quickly alongside him.

The sooner he was done here, the sooner the real preparations for his job this week could be fulfilled. In the past, these actions were normally completed over the course of one month, or maybe two. However, if he wanted to avoid the consequences of discovery that he feared the most, he had to complete all of it within a single week. Not to mention, the added work of finding a suitable place to put one of the final nails in the coffin. This was the certain item that made his right arm, currently carrying his briefcase, tremble and shake with the unspoken threat it held.

Sayori would be out of the country, safe and sound, while he set her team up for inevitable failure and destruction. Goro had no guarantee that she wouldn't be caught in the chaotic aftermath. The only promise that was made to him was that she would still be alive while he was staging these incidents.

 _But that's not enough…_ The taunting voice whispered. _How can it be when she deserves so much more than this miserable life of yours can offer?"_

The voice was familiar, soothing him like a lullaby despite what was actually being said. The absence of mind Goro felt in response made him miss the excited shouts that came from Sayori, only inches away from his ear. It wasn't until she nearly pulled his arm out of his socket trying to drag him forward that the detective got any bearing on what was going on.

"Futaba-chan, what are you doing here?" Sayori said ecstatically, bounding up to the ginger-haired girl.

Futaba, already skittish as a deer, jumped slightly at Sayori's sudden appearance. Leaning closer into Sojiro, who stood next to her in a white jacket and hat, she looked around warily before unzipping the dark blue bag on her shoulder. "We came to say goodbye."

Morgana popped his head out of the bag and turned his head in the direction of the other Phantom Thieves, who were only a few yards away, purchasing things like coffee thermoses and neck pillows for the long flight ahead. "We already saw them, but we'll probably all spend time together before you all get on the plane," the cat spoke. His ears drooped slightly. "I wish I could go with you guys."

"Don't be too teary-eyed and gloomy gussy, Mona," Futaba replied, suddenly chipper. She reached out a hand and pet the black cat on his head, despite his obvious resistance to the seemingly humiliating affection. "You and I get an entire week to spend time together, just you, and me, and Sojiro. It's going to be so much fun!" The girl adjusted her glasses and began listing a string of planned activities on her fingers. Most of the items listed had something to do with anime or video games.

Morgana was getting less and less enthusiastic, which was saying something. He had barely been happy about any of this in the first place afterall. He looked around Futaba's excited form, staring desperately at Sojiro, before also turning towards Sayori and Goro. "Please, if any of you have a merciful bone in your body, save me! Take me with you!"

"Pipe down, Morgana!" Sojiro spoke in response of the long whines the cat was releasing. "You're yowling is going to get us kicked out."

Morgana quieted at that, his ears drooping completely against the sides of his head as he looked at his front paws in sadness. "Sorry, Boss," he replied, even though Sojiro couldn't hear him.

"Yeah. Besides, this week isn't going to be no work and all play, Mona. We have important business as an adorable kitty and his loveable human companion," Futaba assured, flipping her hair in a dramatic imitation of a graceful actor on TV. The gesture had the opposite effect, falling over her face and getting caught in her glasses and mouth.

"What important business do you have? If you don't mind me asking," Goro suddenly chimed in. He looked imploringly at both of them, but despite being unaware that the detective could understand everything the cat said, Morgana kept his mouth stubbornly shut.

Futaba struggled to come up with something as she worked to untangle her hair from her black frames. "Uh…Hm… Sojiro?"

"She insists on having me take her to the doctor that lives near my cafe. Can't imagine why, honestly," Sojiro said with a sigh. "And she got permission to bring Morgana in as emotional support."

"I should have done that," Akira chimed in suddenly, leading his Shujin teammates to stand by the rest of the group. He chuckled slightly, noticing the awkward shift as Goro seemed to be conflicted between avoiding eye contact and keeping up his usual public persona with a practiced, confident smile.

"Boss," Makoto prompted with a casual-business like smile, along with stern, unyielding eyes hidden behind a pair of aviator sunglasses. "You said that you had something to say to these two, before the detective managed to slip away?"

"Right, thanks for reminding me," Sojiro said with his usual smirk, though there a slight strain in his voice. "Well, it seems evident by what all of these kids say that Sayori has you wrapped around her little finger-"

Goro sputtered and hacked, Sayori unable to help the giggle that escaped her. "I'd say that we're pretty much on equal ground, boss. It's just that Goro seems to crave attention like a dog barking at the door whenever I'm away for too long…" If she realized how much worse that sounded, it didn't quite process until Ryuji and Ann were using each other for support as their tears of laughter nearly blinded them.

Goro knelt his head in shame, having surrendered to the fact that he was doomed to be humiliated. He couldn't really be upset at Sayori for speaking the truth… But she could have at least phrased it better!

"Sa… You get needy too, Sayori," he mumbled in slight defense.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Akechi-kun," Ann said good naturedly.

Sayori chose to cut off that conversation before it could go any further. "I'm sorry, Goro. I didn't mean to insult you. I just think you're really cute, like a puppy!" She held up a hand to stop any of her friends from making any snippy comment about _that,_ still holding her smiling gaze with Goro. "Anyway, Boss. What were you saying?"

"Ah," Sojiro seemed to realize he could finally speak again. "Well, I heard that you get lonely, and since none of these kids are going to be here, I wanted to invite you to Leblanc. I relate to your struggle, so I was thinking you and I could share a drink… of coffee. It would be on the house." The man explained his thought process, sounding nervous and shy. However, known only to him, this was mostly an act for what he was really interested in. He wanted to get some information for a mystery that had boggled his mind for ages now.

"Oh, dammit! I'm missin' out on Boss's free coffee rounds," Ryuji whined. "This can't be for real! If he's gonna do this, you gotta take advantage of it!" Ryuji was suddenly intruding on Goro's personal bubble, only seconds away from grabbing hold of the detective's dress jacket in desperation. "Goro, man, you gotta try _all_ of these flavors!"

The blond then began making a very long list of all of the so called "best flavors" on the menu, with the rest of the team chiming in with their own personal favorites. Futaba recommended curry. Akira recommended plain black coffee, also mentioning that Yusuke would recommend it too if he weren't already on a different flight. Makoto mentioned French Vanilla and Hazelnut, and Ann simply said to ask for whipped cream.

Sojiro sweated slightly, tipping the small brim of his hat over his head in an attempt to hide his eyes. "You kids are going to run me out of business. One coffee and one curry for free, and the detective has to pay for anything else he orders. Got it?" The man suddenly turned his withering gaze on Goro, who suddenly found himself shy. He gave a small nod as Sayori swung his arm around in a sudden burst of excitement.

"Where'd the free curry come from, Boss?" She asked. "You only mentioned coffee earlier."

"Uh… I heard Futaba say it just now, and I figured I should throw that in as well. Coffee and curry are the two most popular things I serve, afterall," The man said defensively, before he quickly composed himself and smiled slyly. "Who knows, maybe I could get some free advertising out of it." The man winked at the detective before finding a seat for himself near one of the closer walls. "You kids have a bit of fun before it's time for your flight to leave. I'll wait here for you, Futaba."

Futaba nodded, straightening her glasses, her mouth set in a grim line. "Mission accepted, Sojiro! Have fun in an airport is a go!"

She raised her arms up dramatically, only to notice everyone else leading Sayori to where Ms. Kawakami was waiting. They dropped off her bags at the luggage drop off, giving Sayori an opportunity to say hello to her classmates. After a few greetings, the group went about their business until it was time to go through security with the rest of the class.

"I still think you should have made your bags carry-ons," Goro said with a weak, exasperated smile.

"Who are you foolin,' detective? You can't be for real, thinkin' those giant suitcases belong anywhere on those tiny shelves," Ryuji gaped and guffawed.

"I've done a bit of traveling on planes in the past, Akechi-kun," Ann said. "As long as her luggage was marked, it will probably be fine."

"You did mark it. Right, Sayori?" Makoto asked, suddenly worried.

"Yeah, I tied one of Goro's patterned ties around the handle," Sayori clarified innocently.

The detective suddenly stopped. "You did what?! Which ones?!" He began to stress over the importance of his surprisingly big collection of ties. Never before had it become so obvious to him that he actually enjoyed something so mundane. It was a better hobby than others, at least.

"They were the ones that had a yellow banana pattern, and a green fish pattern," Sayori clarified.

"Oh. Nevermind then…"

Goro would have much preferred if that was where that particular conversation stopped, but the Phantom Thieves were now interested in this new information about their detective adversary.

"Do you have other fruits or animals?" Ann asked, tilting her head in a fake innocence meant to hide her cockiness.

Goro began to tentatively shake his head, when Sayori chimed in with her own answer.

"He has a monkey pattern to match the banana tie. And a bunch of kerchiefs with every food on the food pyramid."

"I need a picture of that!" Futaba declared. "I'd spam it all over the internet or something."

"Please don't joke about such things," Goro replied, suddenly nervous for his professional career.

Akira suddenly smirked. "Do you have anything flashy? Maybe with sequins or something."

Goro clapped his mouth shut and gave Sayori a pleading look. Luckily, she decided to show him mercy this time, giving him a nod of reassurance.

"Several then," Akira said with a chuckle, causing both of them to gape.

The group spent the next hour chatting idly. At one point Makoto stopped by a booth and insisted that all of the girls choose a book to read for the plane ride. Ann got a pile of magazines, Makoto chose a mystery novel for herself, and Sayori was convinced by Futaba to grab the first book to a manga series. At the last minute, Akira grabbed a book on Greek mythology, explaining that he had a newfound interest in it. He made sure to gesture one hand in Sayori's general direction, so everyone would have a better understanding of what he meant.

"Good plan, leader," Morgana commented. "You've read books on everyone but Sayori so far, afterall." The cat was lightly shoved back into the bag by Futaba, who grumbled slightly.

"It sucks to be you. Akira. You have such weird book mood swings. I don't understand how anyone can sit through reading Lovecraft when they only have a sudden impulse to read it," Futaba grumbled. Akira shrugged in response, before reaching into Futaba's bag and giving Morgana a teasing pet.

"We should get going," Akira spoke, causing what would have been complaints from the cat to turn into a small, grumbled goodbye.

"Yes, we should all get going before we miss the plane," Makoto agreed, dragging Ann and Ryuji to the rest of the students waiting to be accepted into the rest of the airport.

Akira gave Futaba a reassuring look. The young girl was shuffling her feet awkwardly, looking around the airport nervously. Akira patted the bag containing Morgana, giving Futaba a small smile. "You'll do just fine getting back to Sojiro on your own, Futaba. I know you can do it. If you need help, Morgana will be right here."

"I can also assist, if needed," Goro chimed in awkwardly, not feeling the weight of what he had just offered until Akira gave him a nod.

The ebony haired boy looked both left and right to avoid bumping into people, before making his way across to join the fray of Shujin uniforms.

"Bye!" Futaba shouted at the large group. Before anyone even knew what was going on, (even Futaba didn't really know) she latched onto Sayori in a surprisingly tight hug. "I'm staying like this before I give you two privacy, but really I'm going to be watching around that corner so I know when Akechi-kun can take me back to Sojiro." Futaba continued hugging a now giggling Sayori, before releasing her and walking off to do exactly what she just claimed.

Goro found himself being hugged by Sayori in a similar fashion. He lightly ran his fingers through her hair and considered taking off his gloves for a moment. Sayori would be far away for quite awhile. While that was for the best, he knew he would miss being side by side.

Sayori buried her head in his chest and breathed deeply, enjoying the smell of maple. "We'll call when I get to the hotel?"

"Yes," Goro confirmed. No other words were spoken after that. Even though they were in a crowded airport, filled with noisy people, they both found themselves enjoying the silence.

Finally, the two separated and Sayori ran to join her class. Kawakami was giving her an unimpressed look, heaving such a sigh that even Goro could see it from where he stood.

The detective released a sigh of his own. It was going to be an incredibly long week. Now that he had gained an extra dose of moral fiber, it was going to be even more exhausting. He nearly regretted agreeing to take Futaba to Sojiro, as plans for what to do when he got home until he could call Sayori were already organizing themselves in his head. It was a practiced system to him now. He had perfected it a long time ago.

He stood there, considering his options for what felt like an eternity. He didn't notice the odd stares people sent him as they maneuvered around him, nor did he notice Futaba looking at him in concern from her hiding place. He could only watch as the world moved forward without him, leaving him to rot in the disgusting quicksand pit of blood continued to suck him deeper in.

 _Struggling only makes me sink faster_ , Goro thought grimly. At the very least he could calmly wait for the end of this pit, which he called his plan, to come, and enjoy the things, the people, and the girl who all meant so much to him.

 _You could just wait for destruction… But is that truly the only option?_

The voice again, annoyingly persistent, yet a lullaby all the same. But he had accepted the answer a long time ago. There was no one who wanted to help him. There was no one that _could_ help him.

No one could save him from his own monsters, just as no one could save Kobayakawa.

* * *

Sayori felt lucky, having a better grasp on "reality," because the plane ride seemed to pass her by in a blink. It only seemed like a few minutes had passed on the plane, for perhaps it was only the passing of time until the real adventure in Hawaii began. Or perhaps the plane ride simply seemed to go by quickly because she slept through most of it. That was also a definite possibility.

Still, the moments she was aware of were not the most pleasant. The worst moment was probably when she had the feeling of waking up to an immense, painful pressure in her ears. Makoto and Ann, who had been sitting next to her, looked at her in concern when they noticed she was tearing up from the pain.

"My ears just popped. I'm fine," Sayori answered their concerns before the two girls could voice them.

"I hope you feel better when we land," Makoto said sympathetically from her seat by the window.

Ann patted Sayori's back in support. "I'm sure things will be fine…"

Sayori nodded, grimacing as the pain in her ear forced her to focus much more. Not much really happened on the plane after that, though. The time it took for them to finally arrive at Hawaii still somehow managed to pass by in a blur. The only thing Sayori really remembered of the time were the worries she felt about disappearing during the visit to Hawaii, and the urge to call Goro and check in on him. The anxiety seemed to get deeper and deeper with every minute that passed. It was hard to fathom how she could possibly become more worried for him than she already was, but somehow Sayori had proven herself wrong.

Her fears made her stomach lurch even more than it should have when the plane finally landed at their destination with a small bump on the ground. Sayori wondered, briefly, if she should make a stop at the bathroom in the plane before the class finally departed into the station. She felt as if she might vomit, and worried that the nervousness in her stomach was another sign of disappearing.

However, Kawakami was stubborn, insisting that they all stay in their seats until most of the other passengers had left the plane. Needless to say, it was a slow time getting off, and Sayori sadly found that her ears still ached as she listened to Kawakami giving room assignments.

"Hm… Matsu-chan, I find it strange that you somehow managed to get a room assignment with someone outside of your class, but I suppose that's what happens when you're one of the last people to sign up," the teacher said, a troubled expression on her face. "Still, it's better than sharing a room with one of the extra boys, like Sakamoto-kun."

At the mention of his name, Ryuji grew defensive. "Hey! She has an effing boyfriend! Besides, I figured I was with Akira!"

"As I said earlier, you have to stay with your class, at least." Kawakami looked at the room assignments and released a groan. "I have to spend some time getting room assignments settled. Feel free to look around, but stay out of trouble. You guys are representing Shujin Academy, and Japan, on this trip." She seemed incredibly bored saying the last sentence, as if she had been made to rehearse it many times. Nevertheless, the Phantom Thieves kept her words in mind as they split off from everyone else.

For some time, most of them marveled at how different the airport looked from the one in Japan. Sayori and Ann were probably the most accustomed to it. Ann had been once before, when she was a small child on vacation. She didn't remember much, but the airport brought about a sense of deja vu.

As for Sayori, she didn't really know why. All she could really fathom was that it had something to do with her heightened awareness, if that's even what she could really call it.

It wasn't long after looking around that Yusuke found them. Sayori felt some surprise that he and his class had become stuck here, but was excited all the same. He had mostly been busy with Akira and Ryuji during their last visit to the beach, so maybe now would be a better time to spend some time together outside of Phantom Thievery.

"We should all spend a day together," Sayori suggested to everyone. "We could even bring Futaba, Morgana, and Goro with us on the phone!"

"Well… I get the feeling that's not the best idea, with the new feature on the Phansite," Akira said sadly. "Something tells me that in the next few days we'll have a lot to discuss about what we should do next as Phantom Thieves when we go back to Japan."

Sayori pouted. "That's not really fair to us, since this is supposed to be a relaxing break for us."

"Well, the Phantom Thieves are famous now. We gotta think about it and plan for something big!" Ryuji exclaimed. "We can't let all of our new fans down when we just got them!"

Ann sighed. "Let's discuss this later, when we have some privacy." She gestured to the busy airport around them to emphasize her point.

Everyone agreed and began to wander idly around the airport. They all seemed to take the buddy system that Kawakami had established at the beginning of their trip very seriously, as Sayori never truly found herself alone. Perhaps that was just her friends' over protective nature when it came to her though.

After about ten minutes of this, Kawakami called everyone back to their meeting place. Shortly after, everyone claimed their luggage and hopped onto a bus waiting outside the airport for them. It was somehow even more cramped then when Morgana was a bus in the Metaverse, despite being twice the size.

Sayori looked out over the students in the bus, wondering which one would be her roommate. Unbeknownst to her, the girl was purposely trying to make herself small in her seat. Almost nobody even noticed she was there.

* * *

Goro Akechi waited impatiently outside of the school office. He had managed to school his new found nerves into a neutral expression, knowing anything out of the ordinary would set off a red flag. Still, that didn't quell his irritation at being ignored for so long despite the vast importance he now had concerning the Shujin principal's wellbeing. Yes, Kobayakawa didn't know that, but he should still be aware of the danger Akechi was all the same!

After an eternity passed of waiting for the man to let him in, he finally heard the heavyset man step out of the office and gesture for him to come in. Goro abruptly stood, suffocating the nerves that flapped around his stomach like irritated pigeons, and swallowing down the sudden urge to tell the man the truth about what he was really doing here. He walked into the room with his typical charming smile and stood in front of Kobayakawa's desk.

"Good afternoon, Akechi-san," the man said, a satisfied smile on his face as he looked at his future murderer with a startling confidence. Goro was confused as to why he had this reaction of all things. Kobayakawa seemed to think this was a time to be intimidating as well, as he gave the young detective an imperious look, fiddling with an inkwell on his desk, snapping the lid of it on and off with his thumb. It made a sickening " _click_ " sound that resembled the rhythm of a heartbeat to Goro's ears.

Goro forced a smile onto his face, despite having no clue what was going on. He just had to find a good place to plant the fake evidence he had been given, and then he could be on his way, free to focus on the more impersonal parts of this operation.

Still, the detective had the distinct theory that that part might be harder than looking into this man's irritating face. Nothing sat right with Goro Akechi right now.

"I was sent here to check up on the progress you've been making on your end. It's very likely that the Phantom Thieves are your students after all," Akechi lied through his teeth, noticing that the principal seemed to pay very little attention to the framed photographs that sat on the cabinets behind him. They were layered with dust, covering most of the images until they were unrecognizable. But the detective could just make out the smiling faces of favored teachers, star pupils, and perhaps a family member or two. All of them were captured on camera, yet neglected and forgotten by the man in front of Goro.

 _Perhaps that would be a good place to put it. Kobayakawa wouldn't notice for awhile. And when it's found by authorities, it would make sense. This man has been very neglectful of his duties, as of late, considering everything that happened with Kamoshida…"_

The observation was quick, yet detailed, so Goro hardly missed any of what Kobayakawa said next.

"...Think we both know the real reason you're here," the man said.

Goro found himself frozen, now worrying even more about why the man was so confident. _Does he know I intend to kill him? Is he determined to tell the authorities? Has he already told them!?_ The reaction was quickly noticed by the man, who released a laugh that came straight from the gut.

"I assume _he_ has already told you what I figured out. You're here to convince me not to, or bribe somehow. But I assure you right now that it won't work. She is my collateral. If you do anything I don't like, I'll ruin her, along with you," the principal once again seemed confident, but there was an edge to his voice as he sneered at Goro. The detective however, still felt confused.

Soon enough, the truth slowly dawned on him as he began to realize the exact words the man had used.

" _She?"_

" _She."_

" _She!"_

He almost didn't recognize the weak whisper that escaped him. Only truly realizing the mistake he had made in losing his calm when the small, "Sayori?" left his lips.

Kobayakawa nodded in smug confirmation. "Yes! That's exactly right. I have something I plan to do, and if you interfere I'll expel her and ruin her chances of getting her into a good school. I know someone as cold hearted as you probably doesn't care, but believe me, the job market has very high standards these days. Basically what I'm saying is, don't stand in my way."

The principal turned around in his chair and gave a dismissive wave of his hand. "Good day."

Goro sat in silence for a long minute as red seemed to cloud his vision. First, rage clouded his system, red hot. It boiled all of the blood in his body as it begged to be released on the man in front of him, right here and now.

 _He just couldn't even pretend to care about the people he was about to betray. What a dumbass… But even more so…_

 _How dare he?_

How dare this man have the gall to think he could use Sayori as blackmail?

How dare this insignificant man think he was important enough in this world to even attempt something so ludicrous against Goro Akechi?

 _Pathetic…_ the red hot rage inside of him burned his throat as he released something akin to a growl. This stupid man had no idea how he even went about things. He had no clue how easy it would be to simply shut him up for good. Akechi could ruin this man's whole career. It would only take one scandal framed on this incompetant principal.

Akechi found himself once again filled with the desire for revenge, throbbing inside his head and heart and choking out whatever light he had gained over such a long time of not being alone.

However, before he could do anything rash, he was hit with the sudden memory of Sayori, the one who had caused all of these new reactions in the first place.

 _She wouldn't want me to do something like what I'm about to do, because of her…_ Goro realized. He took a calming breath, before he finally decided on a solution. _It's not on her behalf anyway…_

Kobayakawa suddenly froze and shivered as Goro crept up behind him and spun the swivel chair so they were facing each other. The man's breathing became uneven as the detective closed in on his personal space, leering up at him.

"Don't make it anymore painful for yourself than it already has to be. I had my doubts about you before, but now I know exactly why Shido hired you in the first place, you insidious hornet. I'll make myself clear, don't make empty threats if you can't handle the consequences…"

The man shuddered as Goro leaned away.

"I don't want to kill you." Lies.

"Your business in the organization is none of my concern at this point." More lies.

"But if you threaten me like that again, I'll break both of your arms and make it look like you just had a clumsy accident on the stairwell. Afterall, you'll also be spouting nonsense about how I did it. _You'll have brain damage_." This was the truth, hidden in a lie.

Goro thought he made that warning clear. Maybe Kobayakawa would be smart enough to realize the true purpose of their meeting today. However, it didn't really concern him. He grabbed his briefcase and headed out of the office with a confident stride. He didn't know how he would think later. Maybe he would still want to try to spare this man's pathetic life, no matter how undeserved it was. But for now, he just wanted to go home, call Sayori, and perhaps get some sleep.

He was so focused on getting to the front entrance that he didn't notice the woman wheeling a large shelf in his path until she had already bumped into him. He wasn't hurt, but the brief confusion and shock he felt at being snapped out of the trance he had been in caused him to stumble as if he had been struck in the face.

He looked over the cart at the young woman who was currently grumbling unintelligibly to herself as she looked at the now scattered books on the ground. She seemed slightly familiar to the detective, though he couldn't tell how. Even so, he didn't have much of a chance to haphazard a guess, because she had finally gotten her bearings about her.

"I figured since all those students were on that trip, I'd have less traffic to get through. Big nope! Hope I didn't kill anyone under this thing," the woman jokingly said looked around the hall until she locked eyes with Goro. In only a second, her entire attitude seemed to change.

"The hell are you doin' here? He… You… The principal wasn't suppose to have meetings with anybody today!" The black haired woman gripped the handle of her cart, ignoring the books she had left on the floor in favor of leaving the hallway. She had a tense, nervous look on her face, and for a moment the detective worried that she might be a secretary of some sort.

 _Kobayakawa does have a Palace, so it would be fair to assume that he could take out any troubling behavior on a secretary that doesn't clear his schedule properly…_ The detective mused to himself. However, as he was about to push open the front doors of the building and leave this horrible school, he realized the error in his thinking.

 _How did she know I was here for a meeting with Kobayakawa?_ He turned around to ask the woman that question, only to find she had disappeared.

Well, that would normally be an immense concern to the murderous detective, but right now he found that he didn't really care. If this woman knew that Kobayakawa was probably about to get what was coming to him, then good for her. Goro was going back to bed.

Still, as he began walking to the underground walkways to reach the subway he needed to take, he took out his phone and couldn't help but feel pathetic. Sayori hadn't even been gone for a day and already his old apathy was returning. The detective wondered if he should wait for her to call, or if he could try right now.

 _No, that would be pathetic too. You're perfectly capable of seeing the worth of keeping Kobayakawa alive yourself,_ Goro told himself. Sure, the man was a fool who had crossed a line, but at the very least it was reasonable to assume that he didn't want Goro getting in the way of telling the authorities.

At the same time, that might only be part of a bigger plan. Shido had plenty of people to do his dirty work for him. Why would he need his most powerful assassin to take out a school principal who was getting cold feet? Yes, it would be a good way to frame the Phantom Thieves, but the plan was to do that with Okumura, in the eyes of the entire public, no less.

 _Kobayakawa has a Palace, and he already seems to think he's higher on the totem pole than he actually is… Maybe he has other reasons for doing this? If so, that would be an even bigger reason to take him out._

 _But I'm trying to save his life,_ Goro thought with a scowl. Whatever the plan is, the detective knew it didn't really matter as much as figuring out a method he could use. Now if only Goro could figure out a method that didn't involve just causing a psychotic breakdown instead of a mental shutdown. That would keep the principal's stupid plan from being achieved.

 _Whatever it is, I'll probably find out in his Palace,_ he decided. _If I can't find a way out of this mess before then, which I probably won't._ Goro knew very well that he was trapped. Kobayakawa wasn't getting away unscathed. Even if the man hadn't been ordered to an early death, Akechi would have given him hell anyway, for daring to drag Sayori directly into Shido's view.

 _I'll figure something out. I have to…_

* * *

Sayori trudged to her hotel room with none of her usual energy. She was suffering from multiple afflictions, resulting from her long trip on a plane. Not only did her ears still ache so very painfully, but she was finding herself tired and possibly half crazy as she found herself giggling at the stupidest of things. One thing was clear even in her tired mind state; jet lag was in the realm of things she could experience, and it was absolute torture.

Finally stumbling over to her assigned room, Sayori found herself having to focus incredibly hard on the large metal numbers that hung on the door. When she was finally sure her mind wasn't playing tricks, she struggled with her small room key, trying several different positions to fit the key into the lock, and sometimes she couldn't even aim correctly and the key would scratch all around the door, missing the door knob by smaller and smaller margins until finally, _finally,_ Sayori was able to turn the knob and enter the room.

Her roommate was not in the room now, but judging by the many suitcases that were laying around the bed farthest from the door, the girl had been here already. Sayori plopped her own suitcase onto her bed, grimacing when she realized how dusty it was. Goro obviously hadn't used the bag in a while. She wondered blearily what the time in Japan was right now. Or would that even matter in this game?

It had truly been a while since she had wondered about things like that. Perhaps it was simply because she had grown used to her surroundings. Still, just in case, Sayori quickly got out her phone in order to look up time zones, only to realize it had died some time ago.

 _It looks like I can't call him right now then,_ Sayori realized, hastily opening her suitcase to look for her charger. To her dismay, the items in her suitcase had gotten tangled up with each other somehow. With no other option, she began to dig around looking for a sign of the white cord, eventually throwing her other stuff onto her bed.

After a minute, Sayori finally spotted her charger, nestled safely in a bunch of socks that had gotten tangled into a knot. Getting it out, she began trying to untangle the knot, but to no avail. Every move she made only seemed to tighten the bunch, until eventually she cried out in frustration and threw the entire bundle to the ground in a huff. She turned away from the mess she had made with her arms crossed…

Only to realize her hotel roommate was standing in the doorway, watching the entire spectacle with a worried gaze. Sayori blushed heavily in embarrassment, uncrossing her arms and brushing off dust from her skirt, all in a valiant, but unsuccessful effort to make herself seem composed. Finally, she looked at the girl in front of her with a smile. "How much of that did you see?"

The girl played quietly with her fluffy auburn hair, trying to smile kindly in return. "I opened the door around the time you started throwing your things out of your suitcase. Um…" She looked down shyly. "As you probably already know, I'm Haru Okumura. You're Sayori Matsu, correct? Or do I need to call security?"

Haru tried to laugh at her own joke, but it quickly faded. "Anyway, I believe I could probably get that cord untangled, and you can use my charger if we have the same kind…" She quickly reached into the pocket sweater and withdrew a similar chord to Sayori's, only this one was black.

Sayori looked at Haru in astonishment, before she settled into a much more giddy grin than her previous smile. "That would be awesome! Thank you so much!" The pink haired girl quickly took the charger and plugged in her phone.

Haru shut the door and quickly crossed the room to where the sock knot lay on the ground. She was much more delicate and careful than Sayori, using her nimble fingers to slide into the small space between socks and loosen them. Taking a seat on her bed, Haru rolled up the charger and set it beside her, taking the time to properly organize and fold Sayori's socks. "Will this work?" she asked, setting the charger and socks on Sayori's bed.

The girl had since stuffed the rest of her belongings into her suitcase, not bothering to organize it again. She looked up and nodded in gratitude at the work Haru had done. It was then that Haru became aware that Sayori was wincing for an entirely different reason.

"Are you alright, Matsu-chan?"

"Yeah… My ears just popped a lot on the plane and it's just…"

"Say no more," Haru was once again on her feet, going over to one of her many, many bags. Quickly searching in the front pocket, she took out a small pack of pills and tossed it to Sayori. "The same thing happens to myself during long flights. You can have one of my pills to help."

Sayori once more grinned at Haru. "Wow, Okumura-chan! You're really coming to my rescue!" Quickly peeling away the silver covering on one of the pills, Sayori popped it into her mouth and sighed in relief. "You wouldn't happen to know what time it is in Japan right now, would you?"

Haru smiled. "According to what I heard in the hallway earlier, it would be around noon…"

"Perfect timing!" Sayori shouted, startling Haru. Sayori noticed the way the girl grimaced and cocked her head in concern. "Is something the matter, Okumura-chan?"

"I just don't like it when people yell so suddenly," Haru said, once again shy. She rubbed her arm, gripping the softness of the shoulder on her sweater.

"I'm sorry," Sayori said, making sure to be quieter. "I'll try to be more quiet."

Haru nodded sagely and got into a more comfortable position on her bed. "Thank you."

The two sat in a comfortable silence for a bit. Sayori waited patiently for her phone to charge and read her book in the meantime. Haru seemed interested in the plants that bloomed in a flower box outside the hotel window, but otherwise did nothing.

After an hour, Sayori set her book down and marked the page. She checked her phone, finding it was nearly fully charged. It was surprising, as it usually took a few hours to charge. _Could Haru have a better charger or something?_ She wondered curiously. She quietly disconnected and rolled the black charger up, setting it on Haru's bedside table. The auburn haired girl seemed to have fallen asleep, her hands folded primly on her lap. Sayori couldn't help but compare her to a sleeping princess from a fairy tale.

It would not be a kiss from her significant other that would wake her up though. (If you could even call him that). No, it would be the simultaneous ringing of both her and Sayori's phones.

Haru looked around in alarm before quickly grabbing her own phone to see who was calling her. Sayori had already dove onto her bed to check her phone, noting with delight that it was Goro that was calling her. This was why she didn't notice the way Haru went pale upon seeing who was calling her.

Standing up, Haru waved to get Sayori's attention. "I really must take this. I'll go to our bathroom, so my phone call won't disturb yours." Without waiting for a response, Haru crossed the room in only three steps, nearly slamming the door closed.

Frowning, Sayori couldn't help but feel concerned by Haru's behavior. The girl had struck Sayori as shy and quiet, afterall. However, she couldn't dwell on those thoughts now, because her phone would hang up on the sixth ring. The girl quickly pressed the green answer button and held it up to her ear.

"Hello?"

* * *

" _Hello?"_ Sayori's voice came out slightly distorted over the phone, and Goro found himself wishing that calling wasn't necessary right now to talk, but thankful to hear her voice all the same.

"I know you were supposed to call first, but I got tired of waiting," Goro explained outright, feeling nervous for some reason. He sat on the normal couch in the apartment, thankful for the distraction from the many different documents and papers spread out before him on the coffee table.

" _I'm sorry! I was going to call you earlier but my phone was dead,"_ Sayori cried. A slight shifting sound could be heard, as Sayori presumably moved around.

"Sayori, Sayori," Goro chided with a slight smirk as he crossed his legs. "Always with your excuses." It was an accurate statement, and they both knew it. Sayori always had to make excuses so she could go do whatever it was she did with the Phantom Thieves. That was probably why Sayori was now getting offensive.

" _It's not an excuse! I missed you a lot today, you silly detective. I was worried a lot too,"_ Sayori said into the phone.

"Oh," Goro found himself speechless at that, a feeling of guilt churning his stomach.

* * *

" _Oh,"_ Goro said dumbly, making Sayori's smile turn into a grimace.

"It's not a big deal, Goro. I'm sorry if I made it seem like it was," She quickly said. She had shifted earlier in order to see the alarm clock on her own bedside table, so she knew it was about time for the rest of the class to get dinner. They would need to wrap up the conversation quickly.

" _It's alright. I guess I just have a lot on my mind right now…"_ Goro replied. Sayori could hear him take a slightly shaky breath.

" _I missed you too. I missed you a lot. I wish I could be there with you…"_

Sayori frowned, wondering why Goro sounded so… distressed. "I'll be back next week, so you can imagine me right next to you over there. We'll call tomorrow too."

" _No… I'd rather be over there, with you…"_

"Is something wrong, Goro?" Sayori asked, incredibly worried. Was something going on over there? Should Sayori be over there right now? Could she even do anything?

 _It's nothing you need to worry about, Sayori. You're supposed to be enjoying yourself,"_ Goro replied. The sound of paper being shuffled could be heard, and Sayori found herself wanting, more than anything, to see what he was doing right now.

"How can I-" Sayori began, but was immediately cut off.

" _Please! Promise you'll have plenty of fun over there! Don't worry about me over here… I'm fine as long as I know you're happy,"_ Goro sounded so desperate as he said these things. Sayori almost felt guilty for worrying.

But now wasn't the time to feel like that. Sayori felt herself frown as her face grew sterner. Taking a deep breath, she steadied her words before they left her mouth. "If I promise to have fun and not worry, then you have to promise you'll do something so I _don't_ have to worry about you."

" _... What do you have in mind?"_ Goro asked cautiously.

"Go to Leblanc. Maybe today, or maybe tomorrow… But please go. You need some company, and I trust Sojiro, Futaba, and Morgana to give you the company you need right now."

" _Alright. If I have the time I'll stop by soon,"_ Goro said with little hesitation.

Sayori found herself surprised with how easily he agreed. Could it be that he was getting close enough with everyone else? She smiled in excitement, for this would be very good news if it were true. Sayori once again glanced at the clock as Haru exited the bathroom, staring at her phone with a blank frown.

"Listen, Goro. It's almost time for everyone to go to dinner. Would you like to call at the same time tomorrow?"

" _You can call me whenever you want, Sayori,"_ Goro replied. " _I…"_ There seemed to be something he wanted to say, but it seemed too stuck in his throat that he ended up just saying a quick "good night," before hanging up.

Sayori sighed to herself, amused but concerned about Goro. He was so awkward about anything to do with relationships. It was hard to believe how natural he acted about it most of the time.

She looked up and smiled at Haru, who smiled back lightly, averting her eyes. Sayori thought that perhaps she was thinking hard about something, but wasn't sure all the same. "Is something the matter, Okumura-chan?"

"Ye- I mean no. Everything is fine," Haru replied, finally slipping her phone into her sweater pocket. "Was that your… boyfriend?"

"Yeah, it's that obvious?" Sayori asked with a giggle.

Haru nodded shyly. "You sounded very fond of the person over the phone. I didn't mean to eavesdrop… It's just that the part I heard was… calming, I suppose."

Sayori grinned. "Well then I hope we were helpful to you, Okumura-chan. Who were you calling? Your boyfriend?"

Haru took a deep breath in through her nose, before breathing out through her mouth. She let a small smile appear on her face, nodding.

"I suppose they both had the same thought at the same time, then," Sayori remarked with a chuckle. "Goro wanted to check in with me, but I guess you could say he also needed me to check in on him."

"I think my… significant other, had very different thoughts in mind," Haru replied. "Shall we join everybody else?"

Sayori nodded, slipping on her shoes and holding open the door for Haru. "Yeah, I'm starving. Do you already have plans to sit beside someone, Okumura-chan?"

Haru walked through the door, briefly wondering if the polite gesture had some other intent behind it, and then felt guilty for thinking that. "No, I don't believe so…"

"You can sit with me and my friends, if you want," Sayori invited. "Just a warning, we're all kind of crazy fans of the Phantom Thieves. So if you hear Sakamoto mention them in a weird way, that's why."

Haru found a small smile slipping onto her face, wondering what Sayori could even mean by that. "I will keep that in mind." The two then began to walk down the hall, slowly warming up to each other.

* * *

"Kobayakawa, school… hospital?"

The Navigator rejected his keyword once more, and Goro Akechi couldn't help but groan. He knew each and every member of this conspiracy had a Palace, but it would be helpful if he had decided a long time ago to figure out just what they were. He had an entire list of crossed out keywords, and all he had left to do was figure out where exactly he needed to go.

With no words left on his list, the detective once again found himself having to go back to the drawing board. In hopes of coming back to look at this problem, he refocused on another part of the operation. The documents and papers were necessary to make sure that everything worked.

It should be no surprise that in his mental state, Goro wanted to rip all of them up.

" _I want to be there for you?" Is that really the best I can say to her at this point? Have I really given up so thoroughly?_ He thought bitterly as he clicked his pen over and over again. He should be thinking of ways to stop this from resulting in Kobayakawa's murder. If he simply didn't do anything, somebody else would just kill the principal, and probably kill him too.

 _Or they could kill Sayori…_

That thought scared him everytime he dared to think it. The detective hardly cared about himself, or Kobayakawa, but Sayori did not deserve such a fate. Anything not thought out carefully would be met with swift consequences. With the fear of such a thing, Goro found himself once again considering what the best supplies would be for him to bring to the Palace.

After awhile of writing down possible strategies, Akechi became frustrated. All of this would be useless, if he didn't know where he was even going! _Maybe I could just say I couldn't find out what his keywords are?_

But ignorance wouldn't be an excuse. In a huff, Goro stormed out of the apartment building. It wasn't until he was halfway down the stairs of the underground walkway that he realized where he was intending to go. He checked his pockets and was disappointed to find he did not have his wallet.

 _At least Sojiro said it was free, anyway._

With that in mind, Goro continued on his journey, strangely relieved to be away from the disturbances that lurked in his home and into the warm, refreshing feeling of Leblanc.

"Sojiro!" Futaba called from the stool where she was sitting. "He's here early!" In the corner of the cafe, Sojiro banged his head on the ceiling of the mini fridge at the sudden shout.

Goro found himself impressed that they knew he'd be coming. Was he so obviously lonely, or had Sayori called in advance? It didn't truly matter, though. Goro took a seat at one of the booths and waited for Sojiro to recover from his shock.

"We weren't expecting you for a few more days," Sojiro finally said. "Why don't you come sit up here? Futaba was just about to go anyway." He gestured to the front counter before turning around to get ready to cook.

"I was?" Futaba looked confused, before seeming to remember what Sojiro was talking about. _He said something about having a private talk with him… Maybe I should stop by home and turn off the bugs in here._ "Morgana, come on! We were about to call everybody, anyway."

"Wha-" Morgana yelped, before grumbling in irritation. If his arms could bend the correct way, he'd be crossing his arms. Futaba paid no mind to his protests, pushing the door open with a dramatic flourish, tipping her glasses to Goro and Sojiro the way one might tip their hat.

"I bid you adieu!" Futaba said, attempting to sound quickly left, carrying Morgana with her. He had begun to struggle, saying how he could watch what the two said without getting caught. Futaba ignored this, until finally neither Goro or Sojiro could hear them.

Sojiro sighed at the bizarre behavior. He really should just dismantle all of the bugs Futaba had hidden. Now that she wasn't as much of a shut-in, he could probably put his foot down for this one thing, at least. _Still, she probably has as much right to hear this conversation as either of us have to have it._

"So what kind of coffee do you want?" He asked, causing Goro to jump. He had been too focused on the odd behavior of Futaba and Morgana. Sojiro couldn't help but chuckle.

"Um…" Going through the list in his head of the recommendations everyone had given him, Goro found that he couldn't decide. "I'm not usually one for surprises, but I'm not sure what to have…" He felt self conscious, until he noticed Sojiro taking the initiative to decide for him.

"You don't seem like the kind of guy who can handle the strong stuff, so I'll add some cream… Hm… Or I could just get you tea like last time…" Though it sounded as if Sojiro were talking to Goro, the detective thought that perhaps the man was talking to himself as he sorted through the bags of coffee beans he had.

"Tea would be good, though I'll probably feel bad about not trying any suggestions," Goro was quick to reply.

"Then how about I just give you both? Sound good?" Sojiro asked, finally finding the box of tea once again.

"I forgot to bring my wallet though, so I was planning on just relying on your offer of one free cup of coffee, and possibly curry," The detective explained.

Sojiro just chuckled. "Then let's agree to keep this between you and me. I need to use the rest of these tea bags anyway, before it goes to waste." When the detective finally nodded, Sojiro got to work boiling water and getting the coffee brewing.

"If you don't mind me asking, Sakura-san, why do you have a box if you don't use it often?" Goro asked curiously. Sojiro paused in his preparations, knowing very well that he had intended to bring up these points of conversation on his own for this conversation. It seemed the detective's curiosity was doing the work for him.

"I actually haven't used this in quite a few years now. A friend of a friend loved it a lot though. I know it was nothing personal, but she never liked coffee. So eventually, I just started getting boxes of this so I'd have something to give her," Sojiro began. "It was easy to make her feel left out, especially when my interests in the friend we had in common made me not pay as much attention to her."

Goro nodded to himself, taking in this information. Aside from the small worry that he was drinking tea that had gone bad a long time ago, he found it slightly concerning how vague Sojiro was being. "I see. Why haven't you used it then? Are you no longer friends?" The detective put his hands underneath his chin, staring idly at the kitchen behind the counter.

"I was honestly never sure if we were friends. She just stopped coming in one day, and I didn't see her after that," Sojiro wondered now if he could have seen her, if he had tried hard enough to look. "Wakaba and I were both upset about it, though. They were especially close, and now they're both gone." Sojiro felt pained, saying that, but he wasn't distracted enough by it to miss the way the detective seemed to freeze in realization. Not wanting to scare him off, Sojiro was quick to serve Goro his beverages. He got started on curry too, just in case that still wasn't enough to buy time.

"Still, I held on to the tea. Maybe I was hoping that one day she'd come back, Wakaba with her, and the three of us could go back to those days," Sojiro finished his explanation with a sigh. "It's honestly a bit of a selfish reason, because I want to do that to satisfy my own curiosity."

"It's not a selfish reason at all, Sakura-san," Goro assured, though he was mostly absent minded as he said it. He took a drink of his tea and barely even winced as it scorched his tongue. Gritting his teeth, he wondered if it would be too much to ask for a glass of water to sooth the pain, but decided against it in favor of spacing out.

"You remind me a lot of her, actually. I wonder why…" Sojiro said, pretending to be lost in deep thought, all the while observing how the detective reacted.

Goro was growing more and more panicked at the thought that Sojiro might realize who he was. What if he realized that this person they were talking about was actually Goro's mother? What if he realized the exact circumstances behind it? Would Sojiro think less of her, or less of him?

 _What if he already knows who you are? What if he knows what you did to Wakaba, your mother's only friend?_ That thought made his heart pound inside his chest, forcing him to take deep breaths as his hands shook.

This of course, was not what Sojiro had expected at all to happen. He had expected the detective to catch on to what he was trying to say, and take pride in the fact that he had figured out the old man's obvious hints. Maybe there would be a bit of nervousness, and maybe even crying. Sojiro was basically the surrogate father to an entire group of angsty, hormonal teenagers, so he figured it would be easy enough to handle.

But this was not what he had thought would happen at all. The teen in front of him was openy afraid of where this conversation was going. That was the official sign that now was the time to put a (temporary) halt on this operation. At the same time, his curiosity had now turned into plain concern. He had heard through Futaba and Akira that Goro Akechi was an orphan, with a dead mother and a deadbeat father that had never been around.

 _It seems like it's definitely more deep than that,_ Sojiro thought silently to himself, refilling the teen's half full teacup to the brim. From what he knew of the mother, Sojiro knew he couldn't place much blame on her. At least, he wasn't going to do that yet. However, based on previous comments Goro had made, the man knew enough to hope that if this father of his wasn't around, he would hopefully have enough decency to be lying dead in a ditch.

"Sorry. I guess I wasn't exactly being subtle was I?" Rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, Sojiro was quick to make amends. "You really do look a lot like her, though. It makes me kind of happy, in a sense. Like that hope of mine to see her and catch up is coming true." He knew it sounded lame, but he was doing his best.

Goro Akechi nodded tiredly. He was beginning to understand that it was a mistake to come here. Wakaba knew Sojiro, so it would make sense that the man would know his mother too.

This man knew both his mother and Wakaba Isshiki, and Goro was to blame for their deaths…

Akechi suddenly felt angry at this cruel twist of fate. Did all adults in this stupid country know each other? Did they all hate his existence? Was Kobayakawa going to walk in here next and reveal that he knew Akechi's mom too?

 _Can't I just go one day without being reminded of what I did to her, what I've done to everybody?_

"I'm sorry, Sakura-san. I have to go. I… I have a lot of work to do," Goro pushed himself up from his seat, and headed towards the door.

"Don't apologize. It's my fault for sticking my nose in your business," Sojiro pushed the inner frustration he felt at himself down, going over to hold the door open for Goro.

"No… If you really do… did know her, then you deserve to hear about everything that you've been curious about for so long," Goro heard the tremble in his own voice as he sighed. "Maybe I'll tell you one day, but definitely not today. Even I don't know what was going through her head when she decided to…"

Sojiro understood. "If you do feel like telling me, feel free to stop by. I can't guarantee that you won't have to pay for your food next time, though."

"I'll keep that in mind," Goro said, leaving out the door and into the hot outside world. It was suffocating, but so much more relieving than being in that cafe, his brain becoming even more muddled than it was before.

However, there was one bright side. Even though his head wasn't clear at all, the distraction had taken his mind off of the problem of Kobayakawa's keywords. Now that he thought about it again, Goro suddenly had a very good answer to what they might be.

 _I can't believe I didn't think of it before!_ With the exciting revelation fresh in his mind, Goro began the journey back to his apartment.

* * *

Sayori adjusted her hat as the sun continued to move across the sky. Looking down the street as she moved away from the hotel door, she could see the rest of her friends waiting impatiently for her to join them so they could plan out what they would do that day. Thinking of this, she suddenly wondered if it was rude to keep them waiting so long. Still, she was sure they would understand when she explained what exactly had been holding her up.

"Are you sure that I have all of my sunscreen on?" Haru asked one last time, shaking the already half empty bottle as she readjusted the straps of her green swimsuit. Being so pale, it was easy to figure out that Haru would burn very easily in the hot sun. Sayori had volunteered to help make sure she wouldn't have to worry about it. This was also a relief to Haru for another reason, as she had been quite nervous at the prospect that a boy might offer to do it.

 _She must be worried about what her boyfriend would think. He must get super jealous…_ Sayori thought to herself. Haru had been tightlipped about the subject, so Sayori had ended up having to infer things for herself. Doing that turned out to be exhausting, and frankly not worth it. Aside from where it absolutely mattered, Haru was happy not to talk about it.

"Do you need any help, Matsu-chan?" Haru asked. "You're about as pale as me, and I don't want you to be in any pain." The girl was shy as she said this, or perhaps she was only averting her eyes so she wouldn't go blind from the sunlight reflecting off of Sayori's white dress.

"No, I'm fine," Sayori replied, taking her first step onto the sidewalk, heading towards the bench where her friends sat. "I sprayed some on before we left." She held up her own bottle of sunscreen to make a point, before tucking it back into her beach bag. "Besides, it might be nice to get a tan."

"If you say so…" Haru looked down sadly, causing Sayori to pause in her steps and look back at the girl.

 _She looks so lonely,_ Sayori thought to herself. Aside from never mentioning her boyfriend, Haru had never said anything about friends either. Sayori could only guess that this meant that none of her friends had gone on the trip. No… Sayori could only _hope_ that this was the case, rather than the much worse alternative that Haru didn't have friends at all.

Haru looked around the tropical scene around them, unsure where to go or what to do. She had just gotten used to having Sayori as company. The pink haired girl seemed to have a natural skill to fit herself into a place and make it seem as if she had always been there. It was as if Sayori's absence simply wasn't natural. _That must be why she has such good friends…_

With no ideas on what to do, Haru decided to walk in the opposite direction of Sayori. It felt too awkward to simply walk past the chatting group. They had been friendly enough when she had sat with them during dinner, but still she had felt like an outsider…

"Haru, did you hear what I said?!" Sayori asked suddenly… right into Haru's ear.

"Ah!" Haru yelped, stumbling on a crack in the sidewalk. This would have sent her falling to the ground, had Sayori not had the good instinct to grab her arm and help to steady her.

"Usually I'm the clumsy one," Sayori commented good naturedly, before giving Haru a stern look. "Can you wait here? Makoto, Ann, and I weren't planning anything particular to do this morning, and the boys had their own plans, so I think it will be alright if I spend the morning with you. I need to let them know first though."

Haru was too stunned to do anything but nod. No sooner than that, Sayori was running over to her friends.

Watching from afar, Haru was able to observe the conversation. Sayori arrived and began to shout her sudden change in plans, waving her arms around like a frightened goose as she did so. It was so loud that Haru was able to hear a majority Sayori's words. Evidently, multiple people could hear, as they paused to give the girl odd looks as they passed by her.

Her friends only smiled, and occasionally rolled their eyes. Still, Haru could tell that there was good nature in everything the group did. After a firm nod of granted permission from what Haru could only assume was the leader of this friend group, Sayori bounced on her toes and cheered. Makoto Nijima said something, to which Sayori nodded in agreement to.

Before Haru knew it, Sayori was grabbing her wrist and leading her off down the beach, saying things with such excitement that it took several seconds to puzzle out what the girl was trying to convey.

"-So I get to go with you until exactly noon, and we're meeting at that exact bench that I was standing at! You saw it, right?! Ryuji and Akira ared meeting up with Yusuke, and maybe Mishima-kun. They said something about American girls being hot, but this is Hawaii so Japanese girls would be hot here too. I definitely feel hot!" Sayori said all this in a single breath. "Anyway, when we meet up, my friends and I are going to be calling a friend of ours that's still in Japan, because we have super-important-top-secret stuff to talk about. So I'm sorry, but you can't be there for that! Is that okay?"

Sayori seemed worried, and Haru quickly processed what was being said. After deliberating, Haru nodded. A breath of relief left Sayori, and she began talking normally. This in turn made Haru sigh in relief.

"I've known you only for a couple days, Matsu-chan. Are you usually so… rowdy?" Haru asked, slightly concerned that spending so long with the girl might turn out to be an exhausting mistake.

"No. At least, it's usually not so bad. But when we had breakfast at the hotel this morning, I thought the brown liquid in those pitchers was tea, but it turned out to be coffee! Once I started drinking it, I realized what it was, but I didn't want to waste the cup I had already poured. Asking somebody else to drink from the cup that I had already drank from would be super gross! So I drank the whole thing! Caffeine doesn't give me an immediate rush, but it's definitely kicked in now!" Sayori shivered slightly as the said effects made her spine tingle. She continued walking, thankfully keeping a firm grasp on Haru's hand.

 _A part of me worries that if she lets go, she'll fly away like a balloon with the air being let out of it,_ Haru thought to herself. "Is it safe to assume that this isn't a common occurrence?"

"I'm banned from drinking coffee! And you can tell why because I get super, super, super hyper! I talk a lot too. I don't mind though because I hate how coffee tastes! But it's super hard because my friend's guardian owns a…"

Haru tuned Sayori out as she began looking around for something to do. She remembered reading online that there were a few nice cafes and restaurants around the hotel they were staying at. The thought of giving Sayori anymore sugar made Haru almost physically sick. Not to mention, they had already eaten at the hotel anyway.

"We're in our swimsuits, so maybe we could go swimming?" Sayori suddenly asked, much more calmly than before. Haru looked over to see that Sayori was most definitely still hyped up on caffeine, but she had made an effort to calm herself down with a few deep breaths.

"Then we'll be all wet though. I was thinking we save that for later today…" Haru began her reply, before silently wondering to herself if it really mattered. The sun would dry them out anyway. After a second of further thought, her calm, reserved look turned into one of excitement. "Actually, maybe swimming around some would help you burn all of that extra energy."

Sayori smiled brightly, and all of a sudden Haru was struggling to keep up as Sayori charged for the nearby beach and the waiting ocean. With only a few seconds to spare, Haru managed to hold her breath just in time as she was pulled into the ocean.

They stayed in the water, swimming and splashing and disturbing the other beach goers with their erratic antics. This lasted for an hour, until Haru noticed that Sayori finally looked normal, and incredibly tired. They dragged themselves back onto the sand and lay there for a few minutes.

"I think this is the second time in my entire life I've gone to the beach," Sayori said, breathing heavily. "I should convince Goro to take us more often, before things get too busy for us again."

"Yeah… It's been a long time since I've been able to do anything like this," Haru responded, sounding equally tired, though she still buzzed with the adrenaline rush. It had been a long time, and Haru yearned to do as much as she could while she still had the chance. Sitting up, she looked at the still early morning sun and thought about what else there was to do.

"We have about three hours until I have to meet with everyone," Sayori commented. She looked over at Haru, noticing her thoughtful gaze, and remembered that around this time Ann and Makoto said that they would be coming to the beach for a free surfing lesson. An idea formed in her mind. "Hey, Haru," she called.

Haru tilted her head slightly in question, so Sayori continued. "There's a free surfing lesson that's starting soon. It will be at the other end of the beach…"

Haru nodded, smiling happily. "Let's go then, Matsu-chan."

The two hastily got up and began to run towards the line of surfboards they could see in the distance. Sayori sent a hasty text to Ann and Makoto to let them know they would be coming, and resumed her pace, noting that Haru was leaving her in the dust.

They arrived to find Makoto being instructed on the sand, an instructor making small adjustments to her stance. Ann stood on the sidelines, eating shaved ice and looking slightly bored. It was very clear that she had opted to watch Makoto learn, or wait until the instructor had more time to teach her. Either way, as soon as Ann saw Sayori arrive, it was clear that she was relieved to have the extra company.

"Sayori! You have to try this!" Ann marched forward and shoved the cup into the girl's hands. "I'm glad you decided to come. I need someone to talk to, because Makoto is too focused on the lesson that I think she forgot how to speak."

Sayori nodded along to the conversation, taking a bite of the treat. Her eyes widened, and she hummed in pleasure. "It's really good, Ann! Do you mind if Haru has a bite too?"

"Sure! You guys can help yourself, because I've already had two of those things since the lesson started," Ann assured. "It's still good, but there are other things I want to try."

Haru chose that moment to enter the conversation. "The lessons only started ten minutes ago…"

"She likes sweets a lot," Sayori explained with a giggle. Ann lightly smacked punched her in the arm, grinning.

After a few more minutes of friendly conversation, Sayori and Haru finally went to join the lessons. Haru had been paying attention to Makoto being taught, and so she had an easier time adjusting. Sayori was not so lucky, managing to lose her balance every few minutes no matter how she shifted around on the ground.

"Sayori, don't lean so much in that direction," Makoto advised from her own board. "If we were out on the water you'd fall off in a few seconds. You're already falling flat on your face."

"Thanks for the advice, Makoto," Sayori replied, before saying, under her breath, "and the vote of confidence."

"I heard that, you know." Sayori froze in response as Haru laughed at her expense. Makoto hopped off of her board and began to adjust Sayori's position herself. Soon enough, Makoto ended up taking over teaching for the actual instructor. She was very insistent, and refused to let either Haru or Sayori step off the surfboards until they were taught.

By the time they were finally ready to go surfing, they had twenty minutes to get to their meeting spot with the boys. Sayori was glad for it. Her body was sore all over, and her shoulders were probably sun burnt beyond recognition, for she had forgotten to reapply during the intensity of Makoto's teachings.

Makoto apologized frequently for this on their way to the meeting bench. Sayori didn't care about it all that much. The lessons were very helpful, and both her and Haru were confident that they could all go surfing tomorrow with little trouble.

After the lessons Haru had politely excused herself. She wanted to get changed into dry clothes before lunch, and check to see if there was anything she needed to be aware of back home. She wondered idly what Sayori and her friends would be talking about, before scolding herself for being so nosy. Sayori had been right afterall. Her friends were all Phantom Thief fanatics. It made sense that they would want privacy if they were going to discuss controversial subjects like that. _Though is it really so controversial now?_ Haru hadn't kept up with the recent developments regarding the mysterious group, but she was pretty sure most people liked them now. Haru wasn't sure what to make of them just yet. She had plenty of her own problems to deal with

All of that would change very soon, however, as the next step in a deadly plot was already being taken.

Sayori unknowingly experienced the next step, watching as her teammates began making short discussion about what they would do when they got home. It started out normally enough, with everyone talking about how their days had gone. Yusuke had become interested interested in Kakau, a traditional Hawaiian tattoo method, and had gleefully spouted information about the interesting designs and methods.

"I almost think I would like to get one for myself…" Yusuke pondered to himself.

Almost everyone seemed nervous at the thought of the tall, thin artist going through what sounded like an incredibly painful progress, and began thinking of ways to stall any hasty actions.

"Yusuke, didn't you say that only the person making the tattoo gets to pick the design?" Sayori asked cautiously.

"It's only natural that an artist would change their mind too easily about such a bold choice too," Makoto reasoned.

"Hm… I suppose those are accurate claims," Yusuke pondered. "Maybe I'll get one if I come back someday… That is, if I get the funds to do that."

"Maybe you could learn how to do it yourself?" Akira asked curiously.

" _Inari with knives!"_ Futaba shouted over the phone. " _I don't trust that at all!"_ Everyone heard her practically cackle to herself at the notion, and all of them seemed to deflate as Yusuke shifted into a determined stance.

"Yes! To capture the essence of people and their souls, and to help them be reborn stronger after making it through such a trial; that is my goal for this trip!" Yusuke would have run off right then to study the method, if it weren't for the fact that they still had business to discuss.

" _Well, the results of that poll on the Phansite were pretty obvious, so it was closed early. The public wants our next target to be…"_ The sound of a drumroll played over the phone as Futaba looked at the results once more. " _Kunikazu Okumura!"_

"That's a familiar surname, right?" Ryuji gaped, cleaning out his ear with a finger as if to make sure he heard right. He straightened out and leaned towards the phone. "What's his damage?"

Morgana was suddenly heard over the phone. " _He abuses his workers, giving them long, punishing work hours. His safety regulations are also almost nonexistent. He definitely deserves a change of heart if you ask me."_

"I wonder if Haru knows anything about this…" Sayori said quietly, uncertainty weighing down on her. Another thought occurred to her as well, remembering the fact that they needed to be cautious. _This all seems odd… That phone call I once overheard… Could there be something we're missing?_ The fact that there was a fake Medjed that had purposefully tried to bait them before made Sayori think, _Could it be happening again?_

Those thoughts continued to wear on Sayori's sunburnt shoulders. The rest of the day passed by very quickly, the group having lunch, enjoying the beach for a few hours, before finally having dinner and parting ways for the night.

And still… Sayori's thoughts plagued her. It was impossible to get any sleep while her mind was such a chaotic mess, and the burns on her shoulders certainly didn't make it any easier. She wondered if Haru was awake. She wondered if she should talk to her about what the Phansite said. But most importantly, Sayori wondered what she was supposed to do.

She had been gifted with this awareness, and she had no idea what she was supposed to do with it. No matter how much she tried to predict the outcome and help the people she cared about, she wasn't omniscient. Sayori didn't know what the future held. She couldn't know until it happened.

The only thing she was sure of, was that there was more that she could be doing to protect her friends, as was her self assigned duty. She still had a promise to fulfill, anyway. With that resolution in mind, Sayori silently apologized to Haru for interrupting her sleep, and grabbed her own phone from the nightstand.

The phone only rang for only a few seconds before Goro picked up.

" _Is everything alright, Sayori?"_

* * *

Goro was napping on the couch, or trying to nap, when the phone rang. In truth, it was only his body that was resting, while his brain was almost dutifully putting the finishing touches on his strategy for attack. He had found the words he needed, and from there it had been a smooth process to figure everything else out about his strategy for attack…

 _You still have a few more days to figure out what you can do…_ That reassurance seemed emptier the more he processed it. He snatched his phone off the coffee table, answering quickly when he saw that it was Sayori calling. "Is everything alright, Sayori?" The question wasn't as frantic or doting as it would normally be. Sayori was safe, and far away, while he figured out what to do, or at least what he could do.

" _Yeah… I'm just having trouble falling asleep…"_ Sayori sounded hesitant and worried, but there was a hint of embarrassment under it all as well.

"Why is that?" Goro shifted into a sitting position, crossing his legs as he waited for Sayori's answer. He had some idea as to what it might be.

" _I… I got a sunburn today… and it's hard to sleep with it…"_ Sayori answered, sounding sheepish. But at Goro's chuckle, she soon turned indignant. " _It's not funny!"_

"Please, Sayori… I promise I'm not laughing at you… I'm laughing with-" The detective broke out into another laugh, causing Sayori to huff in annoyance.

" _Yeah… Keep it up. It's all fun and games until I get home. Then you'll have to take care of me and my whiny self!"_ Sayori whisper-shouted into the phone, reminding Goro that where she was, it was much later in the night. People would be asleep over there.

He was about to ask her, though he had to take the opportunity to win this little battle before he got too serious. "As far as I am concerned, I already take care of you… Besides, I think I like the prospect of helping with sunburns! I promise I'll be gentle!" He could practically see Sayori's blush as she started to stutter and mumble in embarrassment. Any attempts to help her in such ways always made her embarrassed, from tight jackets to help with injuries, if her tales of her few remaining memories were anything to go by, at least.

Still, now was hardly a time to be teasing her. She wouldn't be calling so late into the night if her sunburn was the only thing keeping her awake. What could he do from so far away to help with that? Thinking that, he cleared his throat, letting Sayori know that he was moving on. She quieted in response.

"So why are you really calling me, Sayori? Is something on your mind that's keeping you up so late?" Goro heard the sharp intake of breath. He waited for a few seconds as Sayori prepared what she wanted to say. To his surprise, she sounded cheerful when she began to speak, despite the obvious distress he had heard earlier.

" _It's nothing, really! We both promised we'd call at least once a day. I didn't want to forget,"_ Sayori was practically chirping now. If he didn't know her so well, Goro would have believed that everything was perfectly fine. Instead, he felt the exact opposite. Something was definitely wrong!

"I see… I don't believe that for a second, though," The detective purposefully made his voice sharper. He could hear Sayori sigh, nervous at the prospect of sharing what was so blatantly bothering her.

" _I… Well… First, have you gone to Leblanc yet?"_ Sayori asked, obviously trying to deflect from the inevitable.

Still… It was a fair question. She at least deserved the liberty of having that answered. Running his fingers through his hair in slight exasperation, Goro quickly gathered his thoughts. He was hooked onto the original thought like a fish that had swallowed a hook. He refused to forget his original train of thought. "I did go. The coffee was good, and Sakura-san was decent enough company." Briefly, the detective thought of the uncomfortable subject matter their conversation had dwindled into and shuddered.

" _Good… That makes me happy! What did you two talk about?"_ Sayori asked casually.

Goro Akechi was not fooled by this at all. Snapping to attention, he made sure to sound stern. "Sayori… Tell me now what is the matter or I'm hanging up! I won't speak to you until you get back from Hawaii!"

" _Okay! Okay!"_ There was another brief pause as Sayori breathed deeply, trying to calm herself. " _Okay… Have you seen the poll on the Phansite, yet?"_

The detective grimaced. He hadn't seen the results, but he knew what they were going to be. There was no avoiding that outcome. It only served to put more pressure on him. The heaviness of what would happen in a few days crashed into him like a bull running at a red cape. "Yes, I have. If the Phantom Thieves do decide to go after Okumura, it will be easy to find them. The police would just have to keep tabs on him…" _And then he'll die, and the Phantom Thieves will get blamed for it. Sayori is going to get blamed for it…_

Sayori took a short breath, and Goro winced. It scared him for a second. A part of him thought that he had ignorantly said that last part out loud. But no… It was just Sayori being Sayori, worrying for everybody.

" _What will happen… if they're caught?"_ There was fear and caution in her voice, and the detective found himself without a way to answer. He wanted to find a way to assure her. A part of him wished he could say that they wouldn't get caught, or that he would keep her safe. But none of that was true; none of it would make sense.

Goro Akechi was the Second Coming of the Detective Prince, trying to catch the Phantom Thieves. To assure Sayori that the Phantom Thieves would never get caught would tip her off. To say that he would keep her safe wasn't true. He couldn't keep her safe. As long as this situation persisted, Sayori wasn't safe.

"I… don't know," the lie came out easily, or perhaps there was some truth to it. The Phantom Thieves were an obvious threat to everything Shido was trying to do. If things stayed the same, the Phantom Thieves would die. But if things could change… what could even happen?

" _Hm… Goro, you seem confused. Is something wrong?"_ Sayori asked gently.

Goro coughed into his hand, clearing his throat uncomfortably. "I'm concerned about the limited options I have at the moment. The problem I am faced with is difficult, and I only have so many options of what to do…" _Kill Kobayakawa or not? If not, then how should I do it? What will the consequences be? How can I avoid them? What if I can't avoid them?_

In the past, consequences wouldn't have mattered. He had no care for what happened to him. But this was different… So completely different… He didn't want anything to happen to Sayori, nor to the people she considered her friends. If something happened to her or them, and he never saw that smile again-

" _What would happen?"_ A small whisper came over the phone, and Goro found himself freeze.

Of course he said that part out loud. The detective considered hanging up as shock wore off and panic set in. But that would only make things so much worse. Still, how could he answer? Goro sat still in his seat for many minutes, his body slowly becoming sore as he worked out a way to answer.

There was a small sigh from the other end, and Sayori said something first. " _Goro… Do what you think has to be done… When I get back, I can help you! It's your choice to make, and it should be based on what you feel!"_ Sayori sounded so determined, and yet Goro knew… Things weren't as simple. This choice… if she knew what it was, she would say something completely different.

 _She would, right? Sayori would say to forget about her, because saving Kobayakawa's life is more important than her… But I can't just decide that!_ The detective let out an irritated groan, finally allowing himself to lean back on the couch, a feeling of heaviness weighing him down and suffocating him.

" _I mean it, Goro! This is your choice. Make it based on what's most important to you, and you alone… And when I get back, I'll help you however I can… Please let me! I want… I don't want…"_ Unspoken words loomed heavily in those pauses, and the detective wondered what they could be.

"You're only saying that because you don't know what the choice is… And I can't tell you. I know that what you would say would be different though," Goro replied, his voice nonchalant as he continued thinking about her words.

" _No… I promise…"_ Sayori yawned this time, and he found himself with a slight, fond smile.

"You're all tired out now, it seems. We can talk about this later…" Goro took his phone away from his ear, about to hang up, when something Sayori mumbled caught his ear.

" _Please… need… I said…"_ Sayori was trying desperately to stay awake, mumbling incoherently all the while.

The detective found himself feeling guilty for this. She wouldn't sleep unless she got the answer she was looking for. Deciding to take mercy on her, he put the phone back by his head, and smiled, knowing full well that she couldn't see it.

"I'll think about it," he promised, immediately hanging up. With that done, Goro looked back down at the warrants on his desk and sighed. It was time to start preparing for the actual event it seemed. Standing up, the detective began to stand up and stretch. _I'm not looking forward to it… Then again, I don't think I ever really have._

* * *

As Sayori fell into the comfortable hold of sleep, dropping her phone onto the floor as she shifted into a comfortable position in her state of rest, the girl on the other side allowed herself to finally make a sound.

It was small at first, testing the limits of how heavily Sayori slept. Soon, however, the sobs became louder and louder. Haru hugged her blankets tighter around her, muffling the sound so it wouldn't carry over to the other rooms.

Haru shook with the weight of conflict inside of her. Envy, bitter and hot inside of her, had stewed until her knuckles were white as she had listened to Sayori's conversation. She wished she could have that… the freedom to have such a conversation with someone who mattered to her, and to whom she mattered. But she couldn't, and it filled her with sadness at the situation, and anger at the ones who were enforcing that very situation.

But she couldn't be mad at Sayori. Though it was a reminder of something out of her reach, Haru had found it comforting to listen to the bits and pieces of conversation she could hear from Sayori's side of the call. The cheerful girl had been worried and afraid during parts of it, but all the same she hadn't needed to hide the feelings she had felt.

Haru had awoken upon first hearing the ringing of Sayori's phone, and had been unable to go to sleep afterwards. Listening to Sayori spell out her pains and worries to the patient ear on the other end of the line had been comforting. Haru couldn't avoid listening in.

She could just imagine it. She wished she could be the one in that situation. Briefly, she recalled the first time she had met Sugimura. He had seemed decent and had listened and had been kind, so Haru had agreed to get engaged. Then… his true colors had surfaced and Haru realized the trap she had fallen for, hook, line, and sinker.

Haru, for the duration of her eavesdropping session, had been unable to resist imagining herself in Sayori's shoes. It was an alluring fantasy. One that Haru couldn't have. So instead she eventually shut her mind off to it, and listened to the conversation for what it was. Sayori and her boyfriend, talking to each other. Sayori's tired but bubbly voice, sounding warm even when she was worried, and the muffled, diligent responses from this Goro person had slowly become a rhythm that Haru found herself being lulled to sleep by.

And then they were done with their conversation, and Haru had nearly jolted awake. More than anything, she was happy for Sayori. She had someone that wasn't like Sugimura. Sayori deserved that, for being so kind to her, with no ulterior motive as far as Haru could tell.

But still, it hurt to hear them stop talking. The part of Haru that she so heavily repressed wanted to get up and shake Sayori awake; tell her to call Goro again and keep talking. It had been so peaceful…

Haru blinked, realizing how absolutely unhinged she sounded. Her sobs and cries became more and more silent, before stopping entirely. She wiped the tears from her eyes, taking shaky breath after shaky breath. Before long it was as if nothing had happened. With nothing better to do, Haru folded herself further into her sheets and began falling into her own sleep.

Before she did, however, a thought struck her. _What was the poll Sayori mentioned on the Phan-Site?_

* * *

Only a couple days later, Goro was making his final preparations. Today was the day. Sayori would be returning later that day, or early the next. She would also be on an airplane, unable to know what was going on until she was back. She would be disconnected, and unable to stop him, sadly.

But she would be out of Shido's grasp. This was his last day to kill Kobayakawa, so Shido would be getting antsy. If the man made any hasty decision, things would become unfortunate.

Knowing all these things kept Akechi calm as he dug through his desk drawers. Each one had a lock on them, because each of them held sensitive information, both for detective work and for his "revenge" work, which was the best he could call it. Taking out a key, he unlocked the bottom left drawer and pulled it all the way out. Hidden beneath the desk drawer was the floor. To be more accurate, loose floorboards.

Sticking his index finger into a knothole in the wood, Akechi pulled upward, revealing a metal box that has been carefully hidden and locked. Another key, and Akechi was pulling out the chest and withdrawing what he had been looking for.

The small gun reflected the bedroom's sparse lighting, and Akechi could tell just how dusty it was. Wrinkling his nose, he pulled a handkerchief out of his jacket's pocket and wiped it clean. Then came the work of actually preparing the gun for use. It was a short and simple process that had been perfected with its many uses.

The gun was clean and loaded, and Akechi opened his briefcase to slip it inside. Briefly, he stared at the surface of it, clean enough now that he could see his reflection in it. Goro stared back, wavering slightly as he blinked something out of his eyes. It was probably just dust.

Right as he packed it away however, the image shifted. Loki, then Robin Hood stared back now, before changing into… something else entirely.

Goro slammed the case shut and drew in a shaky breath. The hard part was over. Now he just had one more thing to do before he set out.

The matches were not nearly as well hidden. Stowed in the right, middle drawer, purposefully buried under pointless trinkets, the detective retrieved them easily. Returning to the living room, he grabbed all of the papers he had set out over the past week. Separating it into two piles, Akechi hid the ones he might need later in his drawers, before taking the rest of them to the bathroom, the only room without a smoke alarm.

The detective held his breath, lit a match, and caught the edge of the paper stack on fire. He held it above the toilet and let the ashes fill it up, turning the water into gray sludge. When the flame was nearly at his gloved fingers, he let the rest of the white paper fall into the toilet, flushing it quickly. The toilet never clogged when he did this, and fortunately it still didn't.

Evidence now gone, Akechi grabbed his briefcase and left the apartment, locking the door behind him. He got out of the building before he found himself finally having to consider everything that had been haunting him for the past few days. He was out in public now, and unable to physically panic. So instead he continued walking, aiming to get to the school so he could enter Kobayakawa's Palace.

When he was finally in the subway, Goro found that he couldn't take it anymore. Finding a secluded enough spot, he took out his phone, checking for any new notification. Finding none, the boy stabbed open his contacts. He was about to hit the call button and talk to Sayori again, when he realized just how foolish he was being.

 _I can't lose my nerve. I have to go into that Palace. If I get weak knees now and go crying to Sayori, I won't be able to get even that far…_ Goro realized this, and began to put his phone away, when another person called him.

Scowling upon recognizing the caller, Goro Akechi was tempted to just hang up. Instead, being the genius detective that he was, he answered the phone and made his most polite "Hello?" to the man that disgusted him the most.

" _Kobayakawa isn't dead yet."_ Shido's curt greeting made Akechi's eye twitch in annoyance.

"Yes, I was just about to go into his Palace. The job will be done by the end of the day," It took all of his willpower not to simply hang up then and there, but he knew Shido well enough to know that the man wasn't done yet.

" _Good. Since it might take you awhile, I took the liberty of sending some men to the airport. They can escort Sayori in your absence if need be,"_ Shido, smug as ever, seemed to bask in the silence on Goro's end.

"I don't believe that will be necessar-" Goro began, but was cut off when his phone beeped. Shido had hung up on him with a very clear parting message.

 _Just breathe…_ Goro leaned against the wall. The center of his vision was fading to black, and he knew that if he didn't do something quickly he was going to pass out, which would only worsen his problems.

With no other solution coming immediately to mind, the detective took another desperate look at his contacts, selected one, and tried to control his breathing as the phone attempted to connect.

Over the past few days, the detective had felt the need to go to Leblanc once more. Sojiro had never dared to try to start another uncomfortable topic with him, for which he was grateful. However, he had insisted on giving Goro Leblanc's phone number. It wasn't much, but the detective found it was all he could think of.

Finally, after a few seconds that had passed like years, the call was answered. Futaba's timid voice came over the phone. " _H-Hello?"_

"Sakura-chan, it is Akechi. Can you put Sojiro on the phone?!"

" _Yeah… Sure… Hang on,"_ Futaba said, and then shouted into the background. There were some bumping sounds of the phone being clumsily moved, and Sojiro's nonchalant voice came through the phone speakers, carrying all the beauty of an angelic choir with it.

" _What's up, detective?"_

The detective would have cried if he didn't have such a limited time frame to do so. "Sakura-san! I need you to do something for me!"

" _What is it? Is something wrong?"_ Sojiro sounded concerned, and Akechi began to knash his teeth in frustration. Time was of the essence.

"I need you to wait for Sayori at the airport. I don't know if I'll be able to make it in time to pick her up, and I need someone there." That was the most explanation Goro could find it in himself to give, and he found himself rolling his eyes when Sojiro didn't seem to comprehend what he said.

" _What? You mean right now?"_

"No! When it's time for everyone to get home. Maybe show up an hour earlier. You need to be ahead of everyone else waiting for people to come. When you see Sayori, explain what I've just said and insist that she stays with the group until I come to get her. And it has to be me! Not anyone else! Even if they say I sent them, they're lying," Goro finished, breathing heavily after talking for so long, waiting anxiously for Sojiro's answer.

" _I'm definitely not getting an explanation for this… Am I? Wait. Don't answer that. I'll do it."_ Sojiro's sigh was incredibly loud over the phone, but Goro couldn't care less.

"Thank you," he said quickly, voice full of gratitude. He hung up before Sojiro could respond, boarding the subway he needed to take. The trip to Shujin would take about fifteen minutes, plus walking time. To Goro, however, each of those minutes would be like a knife, stabbing him over and over.

* * *

The airport in Hawaii was long and slow, and Sayori found herself all the more anxious as the minutes ticked away. She wrung her hands and looked around nervously at her friends. Yusuke's class was coming home with them, so they were all able to stay together for the way home. That was a small comfort, but the desperation to get on the plane and get home was still plain as day on her face.

The worst part was that she couldn't figure out why exactly she felt like this. Just last night, Sayori had assured both herself and Goro that she would help when she got home, so worrying about what was happening right then wasn't accomplishing anything. Still, the need to get back to Japan was practically pulling at her very bones, urging her forward in line as she got her ticket and went to the bag check.

"I feel like I shouldn't even be here," Sayori said out loud, alarming her friends.

"What do you mean by that?" Ann asked nervously.

"Wha…? Oh! Not like that! I mean, I feel like I shouldn't have gone on this trip," Sayori confessed.

"You're probably just home sick," Makoto said idly, checking herself for any metal items to put in the waiting bucket at the metal detector. "I started feeling that way halfway through this trip, so I got Sis some souvenirs."

That definitely wasn't right, though. While Hawaii was still strange to her, Sayori had been comfortable there the entire time. It had felt like a strange relief that she was speaking English with some of the other people in Hawaii. She was pretty sure she was saying the exact same things she always said, but being able to process that it was indeed English had helped her to relax, somehow. It was an odd feeling that Sayori could only attribute to something she couldn't yet understand about her unique situation.

Still, there would be no way to describe that to any of her teammates without sounding weird. At least, Sayori didn't think she could describe it accurately. So instead she just nodded. "Yeah… Maybe."

Once everyone had gotten through the metal detectors, they took a seat in the long line of seats, waiting to board. Knowing she didn't have much time left to decide, Sayori hesitantly took out her phone. One last call before she got on the plane would be alright…

Sayori hit the call button and waited for Goro to pick up.

…

…

…

 _Huh? It's late enough in the day that he should be awake over there… Did he sleep in?_ Sayori thought nervously. Looking around the airport, she noticed her friends, conversing casually and happily.

The Phantom Thieves had just finished a fun and relaxing vacation in Hawaii… Everyone was happy and having fun…

 _Something is happening over there… I need to be there… This happiness won't last…_

* * *

Entering Kobayakawa's Palace was a disorienting experience. Despite having figured out the keywords, Goro had put off actually entering the Palace until the last minute. He wasn't like the Phantom Thieves, who had to plan out every single move they made to steal their target's heart. He just had to go in, kill the owner, and get out. So this, his first time entering, was a startling experience.

Kobayakawa's main distortion was apathy. He cared for no one other than himself and his Palace showed that. To call it a Palace would be too generous, for in the detective's eyes, the school that was the location of the principal's distorted desires hardly changed. The building itself was there, looking gray and washed out, wavering in his vision as though he were looking at it from under the water. Desire, the seed of sin, had only seemed to begin forming the Palace. Perhaps Kobayakawa's nature deemed it unnecessary to finish the actual building when Kobayakawa was the one who mattered most?

That was the detective's only theory as he ran up to the school doors and pulled, noticing that the ground he had run over had shrivelled and fallen away like ash upon contact. The doors were stubbornly locked, and Akechi realized he might have to find another way in.

However…

Stepping back slightly, Akechi looked at his black boots, removing his helmet so that the red tint wouldn't interfere. They were steel-toed, and the door itself was made of glass…

 _I need to get this done quickly,_ Akechi thought to himself, backing away from the door about ten paces. He took the time to look at the world around him. Mostly empty and devoid of life, even Shadows, half constructed buildings, paper-thin and weakly built made up the city. Above him, dark skies filled with gaseous exploding stars hovered over him. The air was thin, as if he were on top of a mountain, yet he felt heavy as the ash-ground continued to crunch like dried leaves under foot.

 _I didn't know what to expect when I figured out his keywords, but this is definitely not it,_ Goro thought idly. Taking deep breaths of air that seemed almost nonexistent, the detective took a running leap towards the glass doors of the school. The ground crackled and fell away after each step he took, and as he neared the door and swung his foot into them, Goro spared a glance down at the space below the brittle ground.

 _Wha… What?_ Before he had any chance to get a better look at what lurked underneath, the ground seemed to stretch and stitch itself together. With no time to waste as he felt the ground curling and crunching and sinking beneath him, Akechi stuck his arm through the hole he had made in the door, pressing a nearby rusted wheelchair button. Because it was from the inside, the push of the button made no alarm that someone was intruding on the school, but instead swung open to let the supposed person on in the school out of it, but instead let Goro Akechi in.

As soon as he ran in, the doors slammed shut, and Goro knew that he wouldn't be leaving until whatever he came here to do was done.

 _What am I going to do? What can I do?_ So urgently these thoughts pounded in his skull, like he had any room for doubt. The only thing he had to focus on right now was finding Kobayakawa.

It seemed as if just by thinking of finding the Palace's ruler, the Shadows had finally decided to confront the intruder. Multiple entities surrounded him, and the detective couldn't help but grimace at their appearances. Dirty and emaciated, they all appeared to only be children. They had hollow, black pools where human eyes would go, and a single red one tattooed on their foreheads. Blood dripped from their fingers, and they smiled as the intruder gagged at the stench they created. So neglected were they, that Goro could almost see through them to the creatures that would reveal themselves when he unmasked them.

"Let's finish this quickly. I don't have time to waste my efforts on the likes of you," Akechi snarled. He leaned forward and pounced on the nearest one, deciding to use one quick, but incredibly powerful hit on each of them. It wasted a lot of energy to have Loki come out and kill them all instantly, slicing them all into bits and leaving them to rot like the dead things they already were, but it was the quickest way to get to where he needed to be.

 _I imagine he'll be in his office,_ the theorizing detective raised a clawed glove to tap at his chin in consideration, only to realize he'd most likely need to keep his pace. It didn't matter that in the real world the office was on the first floor. Surely, there would be plenty of obstacles to getting there.

It was a shame that Kobayakawa viewed his school as still being a school. There were differences in aesthetic, sure, but it was almost uncanny how similar it looked to Shujin. It made it all the more easy to think through how exactly he could get to the principal's office.

 _Perhaps if I get in trouble, I'll simply get sent there… But no. Kobayakawa had his student council president do all of that for him. Even if she's not doing that anymore, who knows what his perception of that is. I'll end up just wasting my time…_ Still, he was planning on fighting his way through this place until he ended up where he needed to be, so getting sent to the principal's office would be a bonus. He thought about this, running through the dark, dingy halls, not taking any notice of how the wallpaper and paint curled and fluttered off the walls around him, leaving behind that same empty space he had seen before. The strange thing that hid in that nothingness watched him go, witnessing how he inadvertently destroyed the Palace that had never existed in the first place.

The supposed symbols in the Palace were getting more obvious as Akechi tore through the school, noticing the thinned out beings all looked so young, hanging around the lockers that lined the halls. They intercepted him with each step he took, and the detective began to understood as he heard their haughty, nonchalant voices. These were supposed to be the students of Shujin, and they were all fine examples of how well Kobayakawa took care of them. Not for the first time, he came to the conclusion that he should never have sent Sayori to this forsaken school. Two Palaces had appeared here, if he was to hazard a guess about Kamoshida, and she had nearly been assaulted by that same man.

 _I failed then… But I won't fail here, to keep her as safe as I can!_ That was the only positive thought he could think of as he continued to shred the Shadows around him. When that was done, he sprinted towards the office door, which was now finally in view, only to cringe and stumble as the hallway suddenly seemed to reverse, taking him in the opposite direction.

 _Is this one of the Palace's defense mechanisms?_ Akechi wondered, turning around to head in the proper direction. After getting only about three yards forward, the hallway spun once again. Knowing that this was only going to be an annoying pattern, the detective began heading in the direction the hallway was misdirecting him in. At worst, he would fall into a death trap, but he was moderately certain that he could beat that situation easily.

Surprisingly, he ran into no Shadows whatsoever, which made him suspicious as to what could possibly be on the other side of the hall. Could they be gathering somewhere at the end to overpower him? They wouldn't get far, of course, but it would be a noticeable detour.

As these paranoid thoughts entered his mind, Akechi didn't notice the plain door at the end of the hallway until he nearly slammed into it. Catching himself the second before, he backed away and noticed the sign right beside the door.

It was an uncharacteristically bright and sparkly poster, with multiple arrows pointing to the door beside it. Goro leaned in closer to examine it, and noticed then that it smelled funny. The scent was sweet, and as he wasted his precious time trying to identify it, he didn't notice the thing sneaking behind him, watching from the walls to see what would happen.

The detective gave one last frown, putting his hand on the doorknob, only to find that the room was locked when he tried to twist it. He frowned, kicking the wood, only to find that this was perhaps the only sturdy thing in the entire Palace. It only took a few more attempts at using brute strength and his own physical abilities for Akechi to bring out Loki. The Persona's attacks proved useless, and similar disappointing results occurred with Robin Hood.

 _I've wasted too much time here! I need to get going…_ Akechi huffed and gave a last indignant kick to the door, before turning around to find that the Palace had once again rearranged itself. Instead of the long stretch of hallway, one short one, and a staircase greeted him. At the end of the short hallway, a door with glowing red text above it glistened like a lighthouse on a stormy night. It was meant to be an exit, but exiting this hellhole before he finished what he came here to do would be suicide, and the murder of someone who in no possible way deserved to die.

With no other options, Akechi began up the long flight of stairs. Each of them sank under his weight, disappearing entirely when he stepped off of them, leaving behind only dust and splinters of wood. Without a doubt, this was not possibly the layout of the actual school. The longer he travelled, the more the detective noticed the pressing atmosphere around him. When he got to what must have been the twelfth turn of stairs, it felt vividly as if someone was grabbing him by his heart and squeezing him. The ringing in his head that alerted him to the powerful Shadows above him only made it worse.

When he finally saw a door at the top of the staircase, Goro was close to collapsing from the pain he was in. The parts of his brain that registered pain were begging him to retreat, but he was too close now to quit. With a sudden burst of energy, he ran up the stairs, taking two at a time, and slammed open the large metal door. Immediately the pain stopped, replaced by a slight pressure in his ears.

All he was really aware of here, on the school roof, was the immediate sense of danger that came with knowing that Kobayakawa's Shadow was near. Akechi took no notice of the exploding stars, nor of the creepy ambience that could be heard beyond the silence. Instead, he glared at the dark corners of the roof, looking for any signs of where the principal was. He wasn't going to bring out any Persona until he knew where to attack, but he did take the safety off of his pistol, knowing he was going to need to use it very soon.

The poor detective was unaware, unawakened, not knowing about the whispers all around him. He wasn't aware of the ones watching and waiting, some wanting desperately to be proven right, and the other already confident that they would be instead. Akechi noticed none of these things, instead hearing the heavy creaking noise of footsteps coming from the door he had just come out of. The stairs were not there, so the detective found himself speechless and pale as he tried to work out how noises were being made there. All he could do was wait noiselessly as the Shadow finally emerged from the doorway.

Kobayakawa's Shadow was the most polished thing in the entire Palace. Dressed in a dapper yellow pinstripe suit and sporting a silver bowler hat that covered his bald head, the Shadow looked at him with anger, his entire fat body tense with the emotions welling in him.

Akechi noticed the man's posture and nearly sighed in relief, straightening his own form to appear more confident. Somebody as smug as Kobayakawa had seemed at the meeting shouldn't look at him with such wide eyes. The Shadow knew why he was here, and was frightened by him. No amount of anger could hide that.

" _You shouldn't be here!"_ Shadow Kobayakawa yelled at the assassin, quite clearly enraged. In response to his anger, nearly a dozen Shadows rose from the ground, backing the pathetic man up. Akechi could only sigh in disappointment. Those things couldn't stop him. He could easily use Loki and make them do his bidding instead.

"You know why I am here… There's no way that you couldn't," Akechi said coolly, his cold eyes never leaving the Shadow's face. Yes, they both knew why he was here. He was going to make his choice. All he had to do was stake his claim. "I'm here because you're going to give away information about our little team to the authorities… But the thing is, you're not going to incriminate yourself, either."

The Shadow grew tense at his words, and the detective smiled as he realized he had been right in his guess. Shido hadn't told him… Perhaps because he knew that he would figure it out on his own…Or perhaps this was the reason why.

"I wasn't sure before, but now that I am, I guess I have the ability to ask now." Akechi took one step forward, and was displeased when Kobayakawa didn't back away. Surely he was intimidated, right?

"You want to take over this little operation of his doing, simply because you're only invested in looking out for yourself," Akechi felt his blood boil. "Somehow you thought you were untouchable, and you created this entire mess that I have to clean up!" Taking his pistol out, he levelled it at the man's head, causing the Shadow to shudder.

" _Even as an assassin you're worthless at your job. Just shoot already,"_ Shadow Kobayakawa growled.

"Well, let's just say I no longer want to work for Shido, but let's keep that between us, alright? Honestly, I never have wanted to work for him," Akechi spoke, much to the Shadow's confusion.

" _What the hell are you talking about!? Why are you working for him then?"_ Kobayakawa demanded.

"Revenge, of course! But I'm getting ahead of myself. The point is, I don't want to work for Shido, and neither do you. We're united in our interests, you see? So I'm willing to try to make a deal with you," Akechi put down his gun as the Shadow nodded, signalling for him to go on.

"How about instead of me killing you, you just go to sleep for awhile? Then when you wake up, the stage will be set for you to give your testimony and implicate Shido, but not yourself, and not me," the detective smirked, noticing that Shadow Kobayakawa seemed incredibly interested in what he had to say.

"My only condition is that after that point, I'm not involved in any Conspiracy business. You guys stop contacting me, and leave me alone," Akechi held out a hand, hoping for a handshake, despite knowing how desperate this entire attempt was.

It only took a few seconds for Kobayakawa's Shadow to grow enraged at the deal. " _Why should I do something like that, you worthless brat!? If nobody is using a tool, then it becomes worthless! You'd just be left in the trash! You should want to work for me!"_ His ranting was emphasized as his body began to distend and grow, his suit ripping in several unmentionable places, his body becoming as grey and dirty as the surrounding Shadows.

These Shadows suddenly leapt forward, transforming into multiple different creatures. Akechi sighed in disappointment, summoning Loki and unleashing one wave after another of power. The power of his unchained heart was truly at the most powerful it had been in a long time. There were no distractions as the Shadows suddenly turned on each other and began destroying everything but him. Quite a few began to attack Kobayakawa, who looked like nothing more than a gray, faceless blob.

 _This is how it should be. You hate everything, and everything hates you. Unleash it all and be free from weakness…_ Loki had said these things to him at one point or another, and the sad part was that Goro Akechi found himself agreeing with those inner thoughts. He hated so many things about the cards life had dealt him, and he was finally able to take it out on someone. Kobayakawa thought of him as a tool, and maybe he was one, but he would serve his own purposes just as well as he would serve others.

More and more Shadows rallied to defend their master, and Akechi found himself grinning wildly as Loki continued to rain hellfire down on all of them. Before long there were only ten or so left, and his rational thought slowly returned to him. _I must have said the wrong thing to appease Kobayakawa's apathetic state…_

He got out his own saber, wanting to take these Shadows out quickly. However, before he could, one of them leapt straight towards him. He was tackled to the ground with equal amounts of savagery that he had been displaying before. Closing his eyes as the masked figure began to claw at his face, Akechi reached up a hand and slapped the offending force away. He got up to finish off the overly eager attacker, only to nearly choke when he saw who exactly Kobayakawa's cognition had formed this Shadow into.

It should come as no surprise that what he saw was an incredibly gray, incredibly frail Sayori rubbing at a scratch on her face. Once again, he was reminded of all of the threats that had been made recently. These threats against Sayori, which had no right existing, were holding him back from the freedom he now wanted more and more.

The Cognitive version of Sayori looked up at him with hurt in her eyes. " _You split my lip,"_ she said simply, her voice quivering, before bursting into tears. Cries of pain and anguish that sounded too real for his liking attacked Goro's ears, and he covered his ears with his hands to try to block it out, only for something else to begin repeating in his head. Shido's threats to kill her, Kobayakawa's threat to ruin her future, every single little word pounded and sparked in his head, until he couldn't even tell his left from his right anymore. Shadows surrounded him as Kobayakawa grinned in victory.

The detective took one last glance at this poorly done representation of Sayori, remembering the things she had said to him just the night before. She was a million miles away, and had explicitly told him to make whatever choice he felt would be right to make. She didn't want him to worry about her, but that was exactly what he had to do in order to make his choice correctly.

Her life or Kobayakawa's? The one worth more was obvious. He had known what he had to do for a long time, and he could figure out what to do. Right now, everything inside was telling him the choice to make right now. His mind, his heart, Loki, and even Robin Hood… Somehow they were all agreeing on one thing. They all knew… He knew… Sayori didn't deserve to inherit any kind of fear from the likes of Kobayakawa, or Shido.

Still, even as he raised the gun once more, he could feel eyes burning into his back. The eyes of those that he had already killed, Wakaba and his mother staring the hardest. In front of him he could practically see the hurt and betrayal in the eyes of the Phantom Thieves… In the eyes of Sayori.

 _But I have to do it… I know… that I have to do it right now!_ Akechi thought one last time, pulling the trigger before any other thoughts could invade. The bullet pierced Shadow Kobayakawa's head. The Shadows disappeared, Kobayakawa disappeared, the appalling vision of Sayori disappeared, and the Palace began to break apart, even more so than before.

But in this destruction and death, a strange feeling overtook Goro Akechi, disorienting him and causing him to fall to his knees. The previous pulls and twists in his mind were undone, and he realized the mistake he had made. _There could have been another way…_ The detective nearly tore out his hair in his rage and frustration. The exploding stars in the sky above him suddenly began to spark as he released a feral sob, resting on the ground, which was quickly breaking apart. It split open right below his face, allowing him a brief glimpse into the nothing below.

Goro screamed and reeled back, blinking bright spots out of his vision. It had only been for a second, but he had looked into the void around this broken Palace. He had seen the bells and whistles and basic functions, and he understood all of it and none of it at the same time. The ambience had been loud in his ears, and the eyes that had been watching him burned him alive. Millions of pairs of eyes, witnessing his failure to grasp the truth. All of this happened in one second, and the very next the knowledge was gone, torn away from his thoughts and memories as easily as tearing a paper in half. All that was left was a faint remnant that he couldn't quite keep in his mind.

Goro Akechi lay the roof of the collapsing Palace, numb and unmoving as his brain desperately tried to process the unseeable. A part of him registered how likely it was for him to die if he didn't get out of there before the Palace collapsed. However, another part knew that this Palace couldn't hurt him, no matter how much it broke apart.

The facts were plain and simple. Kobayakawa had a Palace, Goro Akechi went into that Palace to kill him, and Goro Akechi succeeded.

That's all that anyone needs to know, after all.


	49. Chapter 48

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

Futaba looked up from her game expectantly, only to be disappointed when the large windows of the airport yet again showed that the plane they were expecting had not yet arrived. She released a quiet sigh of irritation, not eager to get up from her partially comfortable chair. The only reason it was really comfortable was that it was in the corner of the large waiting area, and thus people passed by without bothering her or entering her personal space.

Conversely, Sojiro was pacing around grumpily and worriedly, clearly riled up by that phone call from Akechi he had earlier. Futaba hadn't really known what it was about, but apparently it was enough to spur Sojiro into going to the airport hours earlier than they needed to. Now he was walking back and forth, disturbing quite a number of people. Yet despite looking like he was distracted by his own worried thoughts, Futaba could see in his eyes that he was vigilant, investigating every single person that crossed his sight with a second's glance.

Futaba would willingly admit that it was a worrying sight, seeing Sojiro on such a high alert. She found herself so distressed that she couldn't concentrate, looking up from her games and personal research to stare out the window, or look at the passerby with Sojiro. No one seemed to stand out. There were business people rushing around, preparing for a long flight to wherever they were going to do whatever their jobs entailed. They could be settling debts, or loans, or some form of cooperation between companies. Whatever it was they were doing, it was probably a lot easier to handle than whatever could possibly be stressing Sojiro and herself out. Then there were the people and families on vacation. They truly had all of the luck, because they had the opportunity to not be worried about anything at all…

 _Maybe I should make a plan… or a schedule for when they get back,_ Futaba thought to herself, attempting once more to distract herself. When everyone gets back, she's need to spend time with all of them to make up for not going on the trip with them. Not that it was her fault, but she supposed it was the thought that counts.

Not to mention, she needed to have a clear window of time for… a confrontation. Just the thought of the word made Futaba shudder. She did not like confrontations, even when she was the one doing the confronting.

 _At least Morgana will help me…_ That was a small relief, knowing the knowledge they shared gave her an ally in this distressing situation.

Once again, she glanced out the window, frowning upon not seeing any plane. However, at the corner of her peripheral she noticed the tan brown, fancy, obnoxious detective outfit of Goro Akechi, otherwise known as the one who had put her in this current stressful situation.

Seeing that he had finally been noticed, Akechi rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Are you alright, Futaba-chan? You and Sakura-san both seem incredibly worried."

"No kidding," Futaba grumbled. "No thanks to you. Do you mind telling him why you decided to call so suddenly, asking us to come here to keep your girlfriend safe like we're some kind of high class bodyguards?" The girl took a deep breath, her long sentence knocking some of the air from her lungs.

"I'd prefer not to go into details, actually," the detective replied smartly, and Futaba groaned before going back to her game. "I have already explained my sudden request to Sakura-san. To put it in the most positive light, I had an important appointment that I ended up having to attend very last-minute, and I was worried that Sayori wouldn't be safe at the airport all alone."

Futaba nodded slightly, looking down and avoiding the detective's eyes, only to notice him swaying a bit unsteadily on his feet. Looking back up, she noticed that the detective looked absolutely exhausted. She wondered what kind of appointment could tire him out so much. The only time Futaba saw this level of fatigue was whenever she did anything that was even remotely taxing, or when the Phantom Thieves finished a particularly long mission in Mementos.

"Maybe you should come sit down?" Futaba asked hesitantly, patting the chair two seats away from her. The two could probably be considered closer than before, but Futaba had a personal bubble that was not allowed to be popped.

Akechi didn't really seem to care about the implications though, sitting in the seat Futaba had indicated. Though his posture was still close to perfect, there was a noticeable slump as he leaned slightly forward and took a deep breath.

"Thank you, Futaba-chan…" The detective trailed off into a yawn, running a hand over his face. He checked his phone and released a sigh of frustration. "Hopefully it will be over with soon…" He mumbled.

Futaba wondered what he could be talking about, but her train of thought was quickly interrupted by a very exciting sight. "Sojiro! They're back," She exclaimed, getting the man's attention as she pointed at the plane nearing the ground on the other side of the window.

"I'm surprised you're not excited," Sojiro said to Akechi, walking up to the two as the plane's wheels made contact with the ground. It began to slow down as the detective glanced half heartedly and sighed in frustration.

"It will take some time before the passengers get off," Akechi seemed bitter about this fact, looking around the airport, eyes widening slightly as he spotted someone in the far corner of the airport. He was about to make his way over before Futaba suddenly grabbed his hands and lightly shook him.

"You should be more excited, though! You don't have to be a lonely workaholic now that Sayori is back," Futaba insisted stubbornly. It took her a few seconds to realize the boldness of her actions, as Akechi seemed pained with the physical contact. Futaba thought that perhaps he was like her, and didn't like to be too touchy-feely with people he was only just starting to know. She quickly backed off, not aware that the grimace the detective sported was one of barely contained guilt for simply being so close to Futaba.

Before Sojiro or Futaba could notice anything amiss, Akechi quickly brushed himself off and gave them a calm smile. "Thank you for the advice, Futaba-chan. I'll keep it in mind. There's something I just remembered I needed to take care of. I'm going to do that quickly. If people start coming out of the plane, tell Sayori and everyone that I'll be back as soon as I can."

Without waiting for confirmation, the detective transformed his tired trudge into a mostly steady, mostly confident walk. He couldn't help the slight growl of annoyance as people finally began to leave the plane, just as he reached the person he needed to talk to.

Yaguchi stood proudly, looking at him with an expectant gaze. Akechi couldn't help the small sorrow that made itself present in his heart as he looked at the once respectable officer. The man had never seemed like a venal person, but there was just more prove that even the best of people were hiding monsters inside. _Shido even got Yaguchi on his side? I wonder why…_

Reading the solemn expression on Akechi's face, Yaguchi glared. "You have no business pitying me. I'm just here to make sure you've done something useful… _for once._ " The tone of his voice was not lost. It became rather clear in that moment that perhaps Yaguchi did not tolerate Akechi as much as he had originally thought. He let a scowl slip onto his face, and Akechi felt himself shrink. Yaguchi had once been one of the more respected and noble cops. He had been a strong flower in the midst of a field of corrupted weeds. _How the mighty have fallen…_

"You know why I'm here. Has it been done?" Yaguchi looked at his wristwatch impatiently.

It took all of Akechi's willpower not to roll his eyes. He's been having a crisis for the past month, and right now, after debating and debating, he felt utterly defeated. _Ridiculous..._

"Yes. The job is done. He should be dead already. If not, he will be very soon," the detective replied in a monotone. It's not like the media could hide what happened, or at least they couldn't hide it from the Conspiracy.

"You know what needs to be done next, right?"

 _As if I could forget something like that… Who I have to kill next…_ "Yes, Yaguchi-san. I am aware."

The man studied Akechi for a few minutes. The detective resisted the urge to squirm under his gaze. Yaguchi was very good at discovering the truth simply through his sharp gaze alone. He could probably sense Akechi's unease at being the center of his attention. Perhaps he knew of his treacherous thoughts and was planning on telling Shido? That possibility of being found out was one of the main reasons he had been having this month long debate with himself. For it to all go to dust in this one moment would truly be a waste-

Yaguchi sighed in disappointment, as if he had failed to catch his prey with the bait he had used. He nodded in acceptance that Kobayakawa was indeed dead, and walked past Akechi. He headed straight for the front doors, pulling out his phone on the way, perhaps to call Shido and inform him that Akechi had indeed been telling the truth when they had called earlier.

With no other purpose in the meeting place, the detective walked back to where he had been waiting with Futaba and Sojiro. His mind spun as he walked, finally attempting to process that Yaguchi had finally been corrupted by Shido and his entire malicious campaign. _But why hire him, specifically? Why would he even want to join in the first place? What is even going on, anymore?!_ Goro felt his hands turn into fists as he shook angrily in place. Yaguchi has been one of the only people in the entire police force that he had had anything close to a relationship with. Now, the only one he could really count on was Sae…

 _Sae and Yaguchi are rather close, last time I checked, but I know she's not completely corrupted yet. I have to figure out where this is leading to-"_

"Goro!"

It only took a second for of time after she said that for Sayori to wrap him in her tight embrace. He was slow to react, saving his worried thoughts in a safe place in his mind to be worried about later. If he looked troubled now, there would be questions asked that he just wouldn't be able to answer. For now, he focused what little energy he had left on embracing the girl as tightly as he could. However, in his state it was much weaker than Sayori's. Thankfully it was not an incredibly tight hug, but it was strong and warm for someone over a head shorter than him.

It was a nice reunion after such a horrible week, but Goro simply didn't feel happy enough to enjoy it. He didn't deserve it either, he was sure. Sayori seemed to zero in on the feeling of sadness and shame, loosening her hug around him to look up at his face in concern, her arms never actually letting go of him. She gave him a comforting smile, waiting until he managed to liven himself up a bit more. She tilted his head down to be at level with her own before kissing his cheek.

Sayori felt eyes watching her, turning back to face the rest of the group. "Thank you, everyone! I had such a lovely time with all of you. All of us are tired, though…" She felt her face heat up as Ann and Ryuji both had the bright idea to wink at her. Sayori would call it suggestive, if not for the fact that despite predicting what she would say next, it was not for the reason they imagined. At least, it was not as extreme as the images that everyone, except the more innocent and oblivious members of their group, had running through their minds.

"We'll all text later," Akira finished for her, giving her a reassuring nod. Sayori smiled back at him before removing her arm from where it had been around Goro's waist. She could practically feel his disappointment as he edged closer to her, seeking her affection like the cute puppy he denied being. An idea soon popped into Sayori's head, a playful smile visible on her face as she moved as if to take her boyfriend's hand. When he reached back, she quickly bent down and picked up one of the suitcases she had borrowed, placing it in his hand. This way they shared the weight of it between them.

"Thank you for helping me carry my bags, Goro," she said, letting out a slight giggle at the detective straightening up. He obviously recognized her smart trap, not wanting to seem like a bad person for making Sayori carry her own bags. Sayori, thankfully, was not a cruel trickster, making sure their hands touched and making sure they were as close as they could be.

Still, Sayori noticed that her attempts to lighten the situation were not improving Goro's mood. His eyes were still dark, and almost unreadable. The air around him felt thick with tension and hopelessness as he stared into space. She knew that he wasn't really spaced out, but he looked like he wanted to distance himself from the situation however he could with that blankness. It invited no conversation, and none of the Phantom Thieves or Sojiro seemed to want to invite themselves.

His fake smile was still firmly in place, but it seemed even more fake than usual. Sayori frowned, wanting to wipe it off and find the true face he was hiding from her. Maybe it would be frowning and teary eyed, or maybe it would scowl and yell, but Sayori knew she needed to uncover it if she wanted to bring a real smile to his face.

With that thought locked in her mind, Sayori took her eyes off of Goro and gave her friends a polite smile and wave. "The two of us are going to go back home. You guys get back safe, and text me… tomorrow? Yeah, that sounds good. Tell Haru I said the same if you see her." Haru had left quickly, and her stiff posture as she did so had made Sayori worry. Perhaps they should have exchanged numbers.

 _I always seem to forget stuff like that, especially when it's important. It took me weeks to get onto the Phantom Thieves chat room because of my forgetfulness,_ the girl thought to herself nostalgically. It really was troubling that in both cases it was important, or at least felt important to remember. There wasn't anything she could do until they returned to school though…

"Hey, Sayori!" Futaba suddenly shouted. It was quick, loud, and awkward. Futaba blushed and looked down, squirming uncomfortably as not only did the members of their group start looking at her oddly, but also random passerby. She lowered her words so much that Sayori almost couldn't hear. "I was wondering if you could come to Leblanc in a few days? I wanted to play video games with you. We could work on our social lin- I mean have a girls' day!" Futaba blushed in embarrassment. Normally she would be perfectly fine with using her gaming terms, but it felt uncomfortable to use them in this situation. Plus, Sayori simply wasn't allowed to have their talk until she was in Futaba's playing field, where the odds would be tipped in her favor and she would be more confident.

"Alright. I'll be sure to stop by. Let's work out the details later," Sayori replied grasped Goro's hand and turned to leave.

With that, everyone parted ways. Goro lead Sayori out to the taxi he had made sure was waiting for them, not wanting to have to spend more energy waving another one down. Perhaps they could have simply gone on the subway, but this way they could have just a bit more privacy. He knew Sayori would appreciate that as well. It was clear from her slightly more wobbly movements and the slack expression on her face that she was also incredibly tired. The flight must have been rough on her.

After putting Sayori's luggage into the trunk, Goro held the door open for her, happy that the level ground the taxi was on meant gravity would put no strain on his arm. He enjoyed being chivalrous, but it would be embarrassing if he couldn't hold a simple door open. As soon as Sayori was in, Goro slid inside, shutting the door and hastily giving the driver directions. Soon the taxi started cruising down the road, and the two finally enough calm to speak.

"How was the trip?" Goro asked, leaning back to relax as Sayori rested her head against his arm, fighting to stay awake.

A sweet little yawn escaped Sayori as she thought back on the few things she did in Hawaii. "It was alright. I had a lot of fun… But I got worried a lot, too. Goro, were you alright without me here?"

The detective managed to keep himself from stiffening up. It was only natural for her to worry, anyway. Bringing it up made him think it was for a reason other than their call near the beginning of the trip. "I am now. I admit I missed you quite terribly, but it was worth it," He felt the movement of Sayori nodding against his arm, and he allowed himself some relief.

Normally, that sort of statement would have sounded an alarm in Sayori's head, marking it as something she needed to pay attention to. However, jet lag was once again taking its toll. The only response Sayori could summon was only to comfort. It didn't even cross her mind to ask why it was worth such a terrible feeling, or why Sojiro had been watching her like a hawk when she had gotten off the plane.

"I missed you too. Things are okay now, though. I don't think I'll be going on a trip like that again, honestly," Sayori said. She was close to nodding off when she felt Goro begin to tremble and shiver. After a few seconds of this, something wet landed on the side of her face. It was small, but it seemed to carry the weight of a world on it as Sayori looked up in concern.

 _Things aren't okay. They have never been okay. They never will be. Not after everything that's happened…_ Goro couldn't stop the overwhelming sorrow and guilt from overtaking him. Memories of the atrocity he had committed only a few hours before flooded his vision, making him unable to concentrate on Sayori except to think of how wrong everything about this was. She didn't deserve the treatment she was getting. Shido shouldn't use her as a tool like he was using Akechi, and she shouldn't be used as the detective's own justification.

Goro wasn't aware that he was crying at first, All he knew was that his body felt weak and frail. It could be like a shattering glass if the taxi hit the smallest bump. There was a pit in his stomach that seek and a pressure on his throat as he remained stubbornly quiet. His face felt off and sticky just below his eyes. Never once did the detective believe that he might be crying, or that those sticky trails might be tears until a warm tingle made its way across his face. It was encouraged by the smallest of pressures as Sayori gently wiped at his face and offending tears with her thumb and index finger.

"Goro… did something happen?" Sayori whispered, her concerned frown shooting through his chest like an arrow. She was so calm about it, but the answer to her question… How could he even answer?

The detective turned his head away from her, instead leaning it against the cool, vibrating window of the taxi. He didn't say a word for the rest of the ride home, not able to even find the words to answer. It wasn't even possible. How could it be?

Despite his silence, Sayori didn't give up on comforting him. That feeling of fear began to once again bloom in her mind as she remembered the signs. His fear over one of their first calls, the uneasiness in most of the others, and the same refusal to address what was happening as their ride to the airport on the trip _to_ Hawaii. Suspicion stubbornly tried to make itself known, but in that moment the size of Sayori's loving heart won. She was tired of doubting and fearing him… She was too tired to worry. All Sayori wanted was to make Goro feel better. True to her determination, Sayori spent the rest of the ride doing just that. Even though she failed to get his attention, his limp, unfocused form was easy to move until she could comfortably hug him and attempt to cuddle him.

In their shared silence, there was sorrow and hope mingling together. Though it was unknown and unheard of, it could not be denied that in both of their cases, one could not be without the other.

* * *

Sayori lay motionless on the couch, clutching her blankets to her chest, unable to go to sleep as she stared at the closed door in front of her. When they had gotten home, Goro had rejected all of her attempts to be together. Instead, he had immediately gone to his room and refused to come out.

 _I wish he would let me in…_ Sayori drowsily thought, beginning to muse about the idea of being able to go in there and spend quality time with him that she had recently been deprived of. She knew that Goro had missed her too.

For some reason though, he had kept his distance from her since they got home. Goro was avoiding her for some reason, and it hurt Sayori to think about it. The detective had offered her no reasons. He had simply trudged to his room and closed the door. The only indicator that he wasn't angry was how careful he was to not slam or stomp around. He just seemed to want solitude.

What Sayori wasn't putting together was that the detective wanted to give her peace as well. Goro also didn't want to be there when the truth was inevitably revealed. He didn't think he could handle the anguish on the girl's face when she learned the news of her teachers "suicide" by the detective's own hand.

That was how Sayori found herself wide awake in the middle of the night. Dark bags hung under her eyes, lying perfectly still as she tried to force the first stage of sleep on herself. The girl was so exhausted, but her eyes remained wide open in anticipation. For what, she had no idea. Her body refused to slow down as Sayori could practically hear the seconds ticking on a clock that did not exist. It was a timer to a bomb. One can only wait and watch in fear as they are powerless to stop the inevitable.

 _Tick…_

 _Tick…_

 _Tick…_

 _Ping!_

The screen on Sayori's phone lit up from where it lay on the coffee table, filling the dark room with a faint white light. Bolting upright in surprise, Sayori grabbed her phone off of the table, seeing that she had gotten a new message in the Phantom Thieves group chat from Makoto.

" _Is anyone awake?"_

Sayori looked at the phone, an innocent curiosity replacing the cold anticipation from moments before. They had all agreed to not talk to each other tomorrow. That way, nobody would be disturbed from their rest. So why was Makoto texting this late? Sayori thought it over, before finally deciding to answer the text.

" _Yeah, I am. Why? Can't sleep?"_

After that, most of the other Phantom Thieves also answered the text. They had most likely been stirred awake by the repeated notifications their phones had given them. In the end only Ryuji, Ann, and Yusuke responded. When everyone was sure neither Akira or Futaba would be responding, Makoto decided to explain why she had texted so late.

" _Sis told me something when I got home. They're probably going to have an assembly for it at school tomorrow…"_

Dread filled Sayori's heart. Why would the school need to announce something that had to do with a member of the police? Had a crime been committed? Were the authorities closing in on them? Sayori began shiver and sweat as worse and worse scenarios filled her head. She knew only so many scenarios could actually be possible, especially if they were concerning to her and the group. It was selfish, but she hoped desperately that something bad had happened that didn't affect them. Perhaps as Phantom Thieves, they would feel inclined to get involved.

That foolish optimism was brought to a swift halt as Sayori's worst fear was realized. Her theory, the one that she had stubbornly decided to ignore and debunk for so long, was proven right.

" _Kobayakawa committed suicide."_

If this were anything else, Sayori would have been fine. Yes, knowing from personal experience, she would feel horrified at the terrible tragedy that Shujin's principal had inflicted on himself. It wouldn't have involved her, or any of her friends, though. It would be a tragedy, but Sayori would let go and move on. It would have most likely ended up taking a while for the grief to pass, but eventually it would have as life moved on and the world kept going.

But it did involve her…

" _Sis is almost certain that the Phantom Thieves were the cause."_

Ryuji and Ann were both quiet on the other line, and so was Makoto… and so was Sayori. No one knew what to say, and no one knew what they even _could_ say, especially through texting. In those few seconds of silence, Sayori only had to look at Goro's bedroom door for the puzzle pieces to click together. She could no longer ignore everything, no matter how much she wanted to deny and doubt the obvious. It was a message written in blood…

" _What!? Are you serious?"_ Ann's frantic reply came first. Makoto was quick to confirm.

" _This isn't real! It can't be real!"_ Ryuji came next, and suddenly neither him or Ann were responding, for Ann had decided to call when it became apparent that he was panicking on the other side of the phone.

" _If it's labelled as a suicide, why does she blame us?"_ Yusuke asked after a moment.

 _Because it wasn't us… It was the only other person that can use the Metaverse,_ Sayori thought to herself, about to type the words in. But she couldn't bring herself to do it as the weight of what would happen after that occurred to her. They would question what she meant, how she had come to the conclusion…

And everything would fall apart.

 _I've thought that Goro might be Black Mask for so long… They'll hate me for not saying anything…_ Sayori knew that this concern should be all the more reason to come clean now and not make the situation worse, but there was still a problem with that. At least, it was a problem in her eyes.

 _I'd just be interfering… It's not my secret to tell…_ Sayori's eyes began to sting as she tried to rationalize what she felt that she should do. What was the best decision for her to make in this moment?

But she couldn't…

 _I was right…_ Sayori realized with a strangled sob. _I was right I was right I was right…_ She didn't want to be. She had hoped that she was wrong, and that she could hold on to this selfish fantasy where she didn't feel horrible for pursuing happiness. She was happy when her friends were happy, and they were happy to support her. She was happy to support them..

All of them.

 _Live for myself… I've failed, and a man is dead because of that. Just because I'm happy here, and I wanted to stay happy here- Right here. Now everyone is miserable._

A hiccuping sensation formed in her throat, and Sayori felt the familiar sensation of popping in and out of existence. But she couldn't bring herself to care. It was painful to go through, but she knew she deserved to not exist. At the very least, she deserved to not exist here, where her existence caused people to get hurt. If she were home, she could die and nobody would care. No one would be burdened or troubled…

 _We both know that's not true… Even if you want to ignore that fact and continue to hate yourself._

That statement, spoken with such certainty and finality… Sayori could tell that this was something other than her usual thoughts.

"Psyche… I haven't heard from you in a while," the girl said with a slightly calmer voice, looking at her phone as Makoto, Yusuke, Ann, and Ryuji all decided to pause in their discussion until everyone else was awake. She silently debated on texting her consent or if she should tell them her theory right now, before she lost the nerve.

 _Maybe not like this… But you have heard from me since the first time I revealed myself._

"That doesn't matter… Those fights are all pointless to me at this moment. I wasn't helpful at all, and we all know it," Sayori replied with a sigh.

 _I'm not talking about the fights. But you are right that it doesn't matter. What matters is that you shouldn't blame yourself for what is happening, and you shouldn't let it influence you into making rash decisions._

"What? Are you going to say I should live for myself. I tried that. All it did was cause me to make a stupid and selfish decision that hurt everyone." The frown on Sayori's face grew as she began typing the first lines of her theory.

 _The only reason things are like this now is because you did nothing… Nothing special at least. You were too afraid to make the changes you need to make._

"That's… That's why I'm doing this…" Sayori replied, finishing her text. All she had to do was press send. Then it would be out in the air, and she could continue explaining things from there.

 _Yes, you're doing what you're expected to do. Crying to the Phantom Thieves is what any good girl with no other cards up her sleeve would do. It's what you've always done, because you've been too frightened by the possibilities at your fingertips._

Sayori froze at the accusation that her Persona had just made. As her true self, the thought felt oddly like something that would occur to her naturally, but the subject of it confused her to no end. Setting down her phone, the girl calmly closed her eyes. "What possibilities?"

 _You've been given a unique opportunity to do something else with this incredible secret you've figured out. If you want to stop all of the people you care about from getting hurt, and I do mean all of them, then make changes. You have been acting like a temporary visitor in this world, and your fading body is proof. You do not need to stay on the marked path that has been set out for you. One small act can start a massive change._

Psyche seemed done with her passionate rant, sinking into Sayori's consciousness like the dying embers of a massive fire. But the Persona never truly went away, and Sayori knew that it never had. More importantly, she realized what it was getting at. She wasn't like everyone else, because she had endeared herself to Goro, and was living with him, she now had a unique opportunity.

Acting quickly, Sayori deleted her text and sent a different one, consenting to waiting until morning to talk with everyone. She knew what she wanted to do- no, what she had to do- but the question was how she should do it, and when.

"I need to confront Goro," Sayori whispered to herself, looking at the bedroom door as exhaustion claimed her aching body.

* * *

After school the next day, Sayori went to Leblanc to meet up with everyone. By then everyone had already heard of the principal's passing, and it made for a rather obvious elephant in the room during their meeting. During the assembly, many of the students had been speculating if the Phantom Thieves had been behind it, but nobody could come to a certain conclusion. To the group's shock and horror, many students had been hopeful that the Phantom Thieves were behind it.

 _Kobayakawa was certainly not a good man, but I'm sure he didn't deserve death,_ Sayori pondered to herself. _Everyone's lack of empathy was so scary. Would they still be happy that he died if it was revealed that Goro was the one behind it. After all, he's almost hated by the public now. But so many people support the Phantom Thieves, and it seems that nobody would be bothered if we were the ones that caused Kobayakawa's death…_

Sayori frowned at her thoughts, pushing open the door to Leblanc and crossing over to the stairs that would lead to Akira's room. The thought occurred to her that she had only heard the opinion of Shujin's students, who had been victims of both Kamoshida and Kobayakawa. Maybe they were just relieved they wouldn't have to worry about the principal anymore? Any way one could put it, the situation the Phantom Thieves found themselves in was incredibly troubling.

 _Hopefully everyone else has something to say that can make the situation seem brighter,_ Sayori thought optimistically as she walked up the stairs. Everyone else was just getting settled as she arrived, so she quickly took a seat on the bed next to Yusuke. They also had to go over the evidence found on Sae's laptop, so hopefully they wouldn't stay on the subject of the principal for too long.

Makoto began the meeting with a serious disposition. "Before we talk about the data we got from Sis, we need to discuss the incident with the principal…"

"People are already talking about it online," Ann commented, her arms crossed.

"Nobody's saying it's 'cause of the Phantom Thieves… so far," Ryuji muttered, looking down at his phone.

"People think he did it because that tabloid exposed how he was covering up Kamoshida's abuses," Yusuke said, stating it like a fact.

"Could it be that… we're responsible for Principal Kobayakawa's suicide?" Ann pondered quietly to herself, a somber frown on her face.

Sayori jolted a bit in surprise, feeling incredibly tense. She wanted to insist that this wasn't the case, because she knew there was another reason where they weren't involved, at least not so directly. Yet, thinking about it, the girl began to wonder. What if Goro was doing it to make the Phantom Thieves look like the culprits? That question only lead to more questions, each one more difficult and straining to think about than the last. Sayori didn't think it would be a good idea to tell them, not now at least. She had to think through this. In an effort to save face, Sayori forced herself to calm down and look at Ann in confusion.

"Whaddya mean?" Ryuji asked, raising an eyebrow at the blonde girl.

"If we hadn't changed Kamoshida's heart, maybe this never would have happened…" Ann explained regretfully.

"But then Kamoshida woulda kept doing what he did if we didn't go and take him down," Ryuji insisted.

"Yeah, Ann. Even if it really is the cause- which I seriously doubt it is- I know that you won't regret changing Kamoshida's heart. You did it for people like Ryuji, Mishima, and Shiho," Sayori said reassuringly.

"Most importantly, you did it for yourself," Akira added. Ann thought about what they had said for a few seconds before nodding reluctantly.

"There's a lot of opinions online. 'It's only natural that he died.' 'Covering up crimes is wrong.'" Futaba cited, somehow managing to stay calm as she read the comments. The Phantom Thieves felt uncomfortable at the last comment, knowing someone could say the same for them. Sayori felt especially uncomfortable, knowing how guilty she was of that at this moment.

"The comments I've seen are similar as well. 'Only the Phantom Thieves are on our side!'" Yusuke recited as if he were rehearsing for a play, the emphasis on his words drawing attention from all of the Thieves. "'I wish the Phantom Thieves would take down the police and the politicians of this country!'"

"It's not just the news. There's even Phantom Thieves merchandise now," Ann said, looking down with a thoughtful frown. "I'd never expected we'd end up such a big deal…"

"It seems like the public would rather believe in us than in the adults." Yusuke seemed concern as he spoke. The slightest droop could be spotted in his face, as the thought of how much work could turn out to be exhausted him. "People are trying to get the Phantom Thieves to solve societal problems, not just personal ones."

"This is kinda scary…" Ann mumbled. She was obviously lost in her thoughts at this point, having not moved from her sunken, arm-crossed position for several minutes.

"Are we really doing the right thing?" Makoto asked to no one in particular, hoping someone would have the advice she needed to hear.

"I mean, the principal was coverin' stuff up, right? I guess… he got what was comin' to him," Ryuji muttered, trying to say what he thought might improve everyone's nerves about the situation.

"R-Ryuji…" Sayori mumbled, her voice wobbly. Would he have said the same thing if the principal really had committed suicide? Probably, considering that's how Ryuji might think he died. "Even if he was a horrible person… It… It's not right to say something like that. Wh-What if…?" The girl felt a deep pain swelling in her chest, trying to swallow down the lump in her throat. Ryuji seemed to realize he had made a mistake, reaching out to try to take back what he said and comfort Sayori.

"That's…" Makoto tried to say something more, realizing that they desperately needed to change the subject before it was cut short because Sayori was crying too much. She wasn't thinking it to be cruel, but it was the truth. Not to mention, she really didn't want to see Sayori cry.

"Whoa, guys, let's get back on topic. Weren't we going to discuss the data we obtained from Niijima?" Morgana prompted, deciding to take action and hop off the table for a moment, walking closer to Sayori. He took a moment to glare at Ryuji. His respect for the blond boy had just lowered even more, if that was even possible.

"You tell them, Inari…" Futaba said with a sulky pout, bringing up the files on her laptop.

"Why me?" Yusuke asked in an equally pouty way. After a second, he finally got up and walked over to look at the screen, reciting the events as Futaba scrolled through her findings.. "First, Prosecutor Niijima has been looking into the continued cases of people suddenly collapsing. It seems she is searching for a common thread to tie them all together. Some parts seem to be speculation, but she has cited a beneficiary of the majority of these incidents."

Everyone looked up in shock, wondering how such a coincidence could be possible. It was like they were a real team of investigators, somehow able to link numerous coincidental-looking deaths to who benefited from them most. They all waited in silence as Yusuke seemed to sense the tension, purposely pausing for dramatic effect.

"The corporation Okumura Foods. More prominently, it's CEO, Kunikazu Okumura," Yusuke declared, looking around at everyone. He had made the connection as soon as he had seen the words. He was happy to see the realization dawn on everyone else's faces, widening their eyes and causing their jaws to hang open.

"Okumura? I feel like… Wait, wasn't that Haru's last name?" Ryuji asked in shock, recalling Sayori's shy-looking roommate from the Hawaii trip. He couldn't help but look over to see Sayori had paled considerably, thinking hard about the information she had just learned.

"And this man also owns Big Bang Burger," Yusuke continued. Compared to the realization that they might already know someone involved with the case, this information seemed silly, but Yusuke still said it for posterity's sake.

"Big Bang Burger!? For real!?"

Well, Ryuji was impressed.

"You know, they only got famous sometime in the past few years." Ann pondered, connecting the dots between how Big Bang Burger could be linked with something obviously involved with the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns. "They even had a branch in Hawaii."

"It says here they benefited both from scandals and the resignations of their competitors' executives," Yusuke said as he leaned towards the computer screens.

"That would seem to be the case…" Makoto said, a serious aura beginning to surround her.

"This is too suspicious though. Only one CEO is profiting from these seemingly accidental incidents," Morgana stated. "I think it's natural to suspect he's intentionally causing them."

"I get that, but still…" Makoto trailed off, allowing for a short pause in conversation.

"Do you think Haru is involved?"

Everyone looked to see Sayori staring blankly at the ground, worry and concern making her pale face even paler and her sky blue eyes wide. She looked tired, and almost withdrawn from the situation. _Does Haru know? Or is she just a bystander? Has Goro really helped hurt people just to help a food corporation?_ It all seemed too bizarre to be true. Sure, she and Goro had fast food a lot, when neither of them felt like cooking, but surely he wouldn't go as far as sabotaging other businesses through such cruel means because of that… This made Sayori wonder who would do that; who would order Goro to do that?

"I doubt Haru would be involved with that... " Ann pondered, trying to smile reassuringly. "We need to find out more about Kunikazu Okumura first, before we suspect anyone associated with him."

Sayori nodded slowly after a few seconds, and everyone couldn't help but wonder if she had even heard Ann's words.

"We have even more evidence he's up to no good. Tell them, Futaba." Morgana said, quickly hopping back up to the table to encourage Futaba to speak.

"I already tried putting Okumura's name in the Nav. He has a Palace for sure," Futaba stated, bringing out her phone to show everyone. It shouldn't have been as much of a shock as it was to all of them, Futaba thought wryly to herself. At the very least, it was enough proof to begin spurring everyone into action.

"That settles it then! He's totally our next target!" Ryuji exclaimed, looking excited.

"That's right. Okumura is at the top of the rankings, after all," Morgana added. For once it seemed the two were in agreement, much to the disagreement of the others.

"Hold on. That doesn't necessarily mean he's evil. If we jump into this too carelessly…" Yusuke said in a warning tone. A second later, he averted his gaze from everyone's attention, saying, "Beyond that, this Phantom Thieves fad is… unsettling."

"Yeah… The excitement levels don't feel normal. We might want to let things calm down a bit first…"Ann suggested.

"Yeah. After what just happened to the principal, we need to be cautious… Maybe we could talk to Haru and see what she thinks about her father?" Sayori said hopefully. If Goro did kill the principal, and had committed crimes for Okumura, than it made sense that something might happen if they acted too fast. She also recalled the possibility that there could be police members trying to set them up, if the call she had once overheard was anything to go by.

Unfortunately, not everyone agreed with her.

"You too, guys!? You're just gonna go against what people want!?"Ryuji asked angrily.

"Huh? No, but…" Ann tried to defend herself, but trailed off as she once again began to wonder what the right choice was.

"For real?" Ryuji mumbled.

"L-Looks like we're not going to agree today then…" Futaba stuttered nervously.

"Ryuji, I just don't want to any of you guys to get hurt… I'm really-" _Scared_ caught itself on Sayori's lips. "-Nervous," She finished lamely. Sayori didn't feel up to explaining why she felt an emotion as strong as fear at that moment.

"Sheesh… Some team you are. What's with all the hesitation? I can't stand this!" Morgana shouted in frustration, glaring at all of them, before turning to one of them in particular. "Even you, Ryuji! You just back down the second someone disagrees with you!"

"What?" Ryuji asked, his voice taking on a low, angry tone. He walked up to Morgana and soon entered a glaring contest with the cat-like creature.

"Guys…" Sayori whispered, her sensed becoming more tuned in to the conversation. She had an incredibly bad feeling, and her instincts were telling her to finally get involved.

"I guess all you've been talking about is using the Phantom Thieves name to pick up girls anyway," Morgana said with a roll of his eyes. "Being hyped up because of the popularity is fine, but getting conceited over it is unacceptable."

"Hey, aren't you actin' for your own benefit here too?" Ryuji accused, anger and frustration rearing its head like an angry bull.

"Guys," Sayori said, trying to sound firm. But it went unheard as Morgana and Ryuji once again glared daggers at each other, low growls rising in each of their throats.

"My appearance might have changed, but I'm still an admirable human!" Morgana said proudly. "At the very least, I'm more admirable than some carnal blond monkey!"

"You little-"

"Stop it!" Sayori shouted at the top of her lungs, getting up and putting herself firmly between the two of them. "I know that we're all tense right now, but we have to keep our heads. Arguing about our popularity and whatever else isn't going to change anything," Sayori stated, crossing her arms. She could feel the astonished looks of everyone around her, and it helped boost her confidence as she smiled sweetly at Ryuji and Morgana.

"You guys are friends, and friends shouldn't fight. Please? We can all work this out like the mature people I know we are," Sayori continued kindly, observing both of their faces for a reaction. She knows this is the exact line that could spur a "But Ryuji isn't mature at all," comment from Morgana, and she knows she needs to be prepared to soothe any snarls so they can get back to their meeting.

For a few moments, Sayori's mediation seemed to work. Morgana and Ryuji both backed off, looking sheepish and slightly ashamed. However, it didn't stay that way. It wasn't expected by the rest of the Phantom Thieves, Sayori, or even the one who said it. But once it was out there, he had to keep going.

"Friends should also trust each other, right?" Morgana asked coldly, looking at Sayori with an angry glare. " _Teammates_ should be able to trust each other, right?"

Sayori suddenly felt nervous as she met Morgana's striking blue eyes. "Well, yes. But what-"

"You don't trust any of us. You don't act like you're a part of the team, and yet everyone listens to you… They trust you, and you stab them in the back," Morgana accused. Everyone looked at the cat in bewilderment, not knowing what to make of his accusations, except for Futaba, who looked nervously at the cat. This wasn't the plan at all!

Meanwhile, Sayori froze, wondering what Morgana meant by that. Did he know about her suspicions of Black Mask's identity? She began to tremble at the thought of everything being revealed now. She just needed a little more time to fix things. Trying to turn the situation around, Sayori began speaking as calmly as she could. "Morgana, I never meant to slight you in any way. I'm sorry."

The cat only looked more offended, arching his back in a tense posture. "If you really meant that you should have said something. We saved your life! Do you think that we… That I can't handle it?"

"What? No… It's just-" Sayori tried to think of a reason to give Morgana that would be satisfying, but not knowing what he was referring to made it difficult. The cat huffed before glaring at all of the team, Ryuji in particular.

The blond was quickly incited by this, stepping around Sayori, who was desperately trying to figure out what to say. "What the hell are you even goin' on about, cat? Sayori wouldn't do something like that if it weren't for a good reason. For an 'admirable human being' you sure don't know how to respect boundaries!"

"All of you guys are so unprofessional!" Morgana shouted, taking a step closer on the table, Ryuji took another step forward as well.

Seeing this, Sayori made one last attempt to fix things. "Guys… I don't like fighting. Please stop-"

"Stay out of it, Sayori," Ryuji interrupted harshly. "This fight was between him and me, anyway."

Sayori trembled but stepped back, nodding her head shakily. Morgana looked at her irritably, for once in agreement with Ryuji. "If you aren't going to say or do anything useful, then don't interfere."

"You're one to talk," Ryuji growled, and the two were right back at it again. The rest of the team had the distinct feeling that this was different from other arguments they had seen in the past, and more than once they tried to break it up. But by now the two were so locked in their argument that they weren't even paying attention to their surroundings anymore.

"Fine. I can take on some small-time target like Okumura on my own," Morgana stated calmly, looking down with an angry determination. "Sorry, but it looks like I'll be getting the credit for solving the mental shutdown mystery."

Sayori felt her head throb as her vision turned into a muted black and white color. Memories from not so long ago flooded into her head as she saw Morgana's thoughts, thinking back on all of the times he had been called useless. Remembering from the time with Makoto, a horrible ache welled up in Sayori's stomach as she realized that something bad was happening.

"I'm going to show you who the useless one actually is!" Morgana shouted, breaking the trance like state Sayori had fallen into. She squinted her eyes as color filled her vision, the experience like turning on a light after being left in the room for so long. She wobbled once again, feeling the slightly cold hands of Yusuke and Makoto grabbing her shoulders to try to steady her.

"All right then! Bring it on!" Ryuji declared, not noticing the distress the argument would cause, nor able to see the consequences this fight would bring.

"Ryuji, stop!" Ann tried one last time to salvage the situation, but the damage had already been done. Both Ryuji and Morgana were now too stubborn to see reason.

"Looks like I don't belong here after all…"Morgana said regretfully, before looking up with hard set eyes. "Well, this is goodbye!"

"Calm down," Akira said, trying to sound firm even as part of his team was falling to pieces. Sayori seemed to be in the midst of a panic attack, Futaba wasn't much better, and Morgana was about to run away. He felt like a failure as a leader as he watched it unfold, unable to take control of the argument, and letting Sayori try to settle their explosive fight.

"Morgana, wait!" Ann shouted, suddenly desperate to do _something_ to turn the tide of today. Everything seemed to be going wrong for them, and the stress was causing one of them to run away. How did that reflect their team if it could happen so easily?

"... See you," Morgana said quietly, mostly to Ann.

And then he was gone.

"I bet he's back in no time…" Ryuji said, trying to dismiss everyone's worry. Or at least that's what he wished he was doing. To him, it felt like trying to make excuses for his own actions. He looked at the stairs, where Morgana had fled down, and then to Sayori, who was mumbling apologies as she blamed herself for not stopping _their_ stupid argument. Ryuji felt the beginnings of guilt well up in him as he realized how badly he had just messed up.

"Dammit!"

* * *

Sayori hugged her knees to her chest in the dark apartment. Goro had had an interview, meaning that he had to be out late. Thoughts of what else he could be doing bombarded her mind, making her feel terrible as she doubted everything she had wanted to believe.

She had tried to watch his interview, but thinking about her suspicions, combined with watching the audience repeatedly ask horrible questions about his popularity and reputation, if he was going to change his theories, and all of the usual slander made her turn it off after only a half hour.

This left her with nothing to do but think, sitting on the floor with her back leaned against the couch, because actually sitting on it was more comfortable than she felt she deserved. Sayori couldn't muster any energy to cry as she thought back to the events of her meeting with her team, and how horribly it had gone...

Because she had failed.

* * *

 _Sayori was happily chatting with Monika when she felt it. The tension in the air alerted Sayori long before the sounds of an unfortunately familiar argument began. Monika noticed Sayori begin to trail off and lose focus in their conversation, and began wondering what the cause was. Soon enough, she got her answer._

" _Oh? I didn't realize you were trying so hard to impress our new member, Yuri," Natsuki said accusingly, standing over the taller girl._

" _E-Eh?" Yuri looked startled at the smug tone in Natsuki's voice. "That's not why I…!" She struggled for words, and then gave a frown of irritation as her eyes narrowed. "You… You're just…" Yuri stood up to match Natsuki's challenge. "Maybe you're just jealous that he appreciates my advice more than he appreciated yours!"_

" _Huh! And how do you know he didn't appreciate_ my _advice more?" Natsuki asked angrily. "Are you that full of yourself?"_

" _I…!" Yuri shrunk in confidence for only a moment before finding a response. "No… If I was full of myself… I would deliberately go out of my way to make everything I do overly cutesy!"_

 _Natsuki struggled to find words, her tense posture making it obvious that she was overwhelmed and shocked that this fight was happening. Sayori and Monika gaped at the exchange, and simultaneously walked closer to try to fix the problem. Sayori tried first._

" _U-Um!" Sayori stepped up to the group nervously, glancing at her poor, nervous friend "Is everyone okay?"_

" _Well, you know what?" Natsuki shouted, paying no attention to Sayori, "I wasn't the one whose boobs magically grew a size bigger as soon as he showed up!"_

" _N-Natsuki!" Yuri sputtered._

 _Monika blushed, clearly flustered by the awkward turn of the argument. "Um, Natsuki, that's a little-"_

" _This doesn't involve you!" Natsuki and Yuri both shouted._

" _I-I don't like fighting, guys!" Sayori cried, trying to get them to calm down for her sake. The only it did was give them pause to turn and look at their new club member in horrified realization._

" _You! She- She's just trying to make me look bad," Yuri said, nervously trying to defend her reputation._

" _That's not true!" Natsuki yelled. "She started it! If she could get over herself and learn to appreciate that_ simple _writing is more effective, then this wouldn't have happened in the first place. What's the point in making your poems all convoluted for no reason? The meaning should jump out at the reader, not force them to have to figure it out. Help me explain that to her!"_

" _W-Wait!" Yuri said desperately. "There's a reason we have so many expressive words in our language! It's the only way to convey complex feelings and meaning the most effectively. Avoiding them is not only unnecessarily limiting yourself… It's also a waste! You understand that, right?_

" _Um…" The boy looked between both girls nervously. Sayori felt incredibly sorry for him, and guilty for not stopping the fight before he got dragged into it. Or maybe he had been dragged in from the beginning._

" _Well?" Natsuki and Yuri said impatiently, glaring daggers at each other the entire time._

* * *

Sayori struggled to remember what happened next. If she thought correctly, this is because there was a choice to be made in this situation. Who was her friend supposed to agree with. However, all she really cared to think about was what was supposed to happen if the task fell to her to fix the disharmony between the people she cared so much for.

* * *

" _...Sayori!" He suddenly shouted._

" _Eh?" Sayori jumped in confusion at finally being addressed. She hadn't wanted to interfere when her friend was trying to put a stop to the fight._

" _...Yeah!" The boy said, realizing what he could do. "Everyone's fighting is making Sayori uncomfortable. How can the two of you keep fighting when you know you're making your friend feel like this?"_

" _You really…?" Sayori smiled at her friend, appreciating his faith in her to fix this. She would gladly answer his call for help._

" _Well… That's her problem! This isn't about her," Natsuki said with a huff, crossing her arms._

" _I-I agree…" Yuri said quietly, "It's unfair for others to interject their own feelings into our conflict."_

" _Yeah, unless Sayori wants to tell Yuri what a stuck-up jerk she's being," Natsuki added snarkily, making Sayori nervous that the fight was about to start again._

" _She would never…!" Yuri said angrily. "It's your immaturity that's made her upset in the first place!"_

"Excuse _me?" Natsuki snapped. "Are you listening to yourself? This is exactly why… Exactly why nobody likes-"_

" _Stop!" Sayori nearly screamed, interrupting the argument before something that couldn't be taken back was said. Natsuki and Yuri both paused, shocked at the force Sayori was suddenly using in her words._

" _Natsuki! Yuri! You guys are my friends!" Sayori said, her eyes tearing up, making both of them begin to feel guilty. "I just want everyone to get along and be happy! My friends are wonderful people… And I love them because of their differences!" Sayori looked pointedly at both of them. "Natsuki's poems… They're amazing because they give you so many feelings with just a few words! And Yuri's poems are amazing because they paint beautiful pictures in your head! Everyone's so talented… So why are we fighting?"_

" _Be-Because…" Natsuki stuttered._

" _Well…" Yuri trailed off._

" _Also!" Sayori added, not giving either of them a chance to form a proper chance to respond, "Natsuki's cute and there's nothing wrong with that! And Yuri's boobs are the same as they always were! Big and beautiful!" She couldn't help but blush in embarrassment as everyone gave her a weird look._

" _Sayori…" He didn't even know how to respond. Sayori stood triumphant as both Monika and her friend gave her a bewildered look._

" _I'll… make some tea…" Yuri said awkwardly before running off. Natsuki sat down with blank expression, absolutely stupefied._

 _Sayori looked at her handiwork, satisfied with the outcome. She looked over to see Monika talking to their newest club member. Though they were whispering, she could hear each word clearly. "So, this is why Sayori is Vice President…" Her friend whispered to Monika._

 _Monika nodded, admitting, "To be honest… I might come off as a good leader, and I can organize things… But I'm not very good with people… I couldn't even bring myself to interject. As President, that's kind of embarrassing of me." Monika laughed awkwardly, feeling embarrassed of her fault. Sayori couldn't fault her for it though. The argument had been very intense._

" _Nah…" He said nonchalantly "It's not like I can blame you. I wasn't able to say anything, either."_

" _Well…" Monika said, "I guess that just means Sayori is amazing in her own ways, isn't she?"_

" _You could say that." Her friend agreed. "She might be an airhead, but sometimes it's weirdly suspicious that she knows exactly what she's doing." Sayori couldn't help but blush upon overhearing that compliment._

* * *

Sayori took in a shuddering breath as those memories of peaceful club days faded out. What had she gotten herself gotten into? Ryuji and Morgana's fight had been more intense than any fight Yuri and Natsuki had ever had. Those girls had always been aggressive, but it was on a whole other level with the blond and the cat. Neither of them had been afraid to say hurtful things.

But that didn't excuse Sayori for being so cowardly. She shouldn't have frozen up like she did when she was suddenly brought up in the argument. If anything, that was her greatest chance to get involved and put a stop to the fight. Yet she had just stood there with her mouth hanging open, like a dead fish out of water. Being a mediator was her talent. While her memories only really showed that one instance of her being a peacekeeper, Monika had said so herself in that memory. Sayori was necessary to keep a calm and peaceful atmosphere.

"I let everyone down," Sayori whispered brokenly. "Morgana is right… I can't even be trusted, especially when I fail to do the one thing I'm useful for… I- I-" Sayori felt the hiccup-sensation build in her throat, and let the painful sensation temporarily freeze her thoughts as fresh tears welled up.

 _I keep such terrible secrets from them. How can I be so horrible to the people who have helped me so much… And how could I be so horrible to my club members?"_

How were her clubmates doing without her there to keep the peace? If she was as necessary as Monika and her friend had claimed, then what was going on back home? Did everyone hate each other? Were they fighting each other? Was one of them hurt? Sayori didn't want to think about how her probable death had affected her friends, especially knowing that she had done it to herself.

 _I'm lying to everyone… There has to be someone that I can tell the truth to…_ Despite herself, Sayori thought immediately of Goro. How would he react to her disappearing, and how would he react to the fact that she knew his secret: that she thought of him as a murderer?

"What can I do?" Sayori asked. She was planning on confronting Goro, but what would the consequences of that be? She could be endangering herself, her friends, and Goro himself!

As Sayori sat there, trying to fight a mental battle that she should have never instigated in the first place, her phone rang with a reminder text from Futaba.

" _Don't forget to come over tomorrow to play video games! It will be in Leblanc!"_

* * *

Futaba paced the floor of the cafe's dining area impatiently. She checked the clock on her phone, noting with dismay that Sayori only had five minutes before she was late. It was irritating to Futaba, because they barely had a moment to waste before her plan could be ruined. Grimacing at the turn of events, the ginger-haired girl put a hand around the mug of hot chocolate that Sojiro had prepared for Sayori earlier. Now, it could more accurately be described as a cup of room temperature chocolate, but Futaba had been stubborn, making sure she had Leblanc all to herself for at least an hour. The store was temporarily closed. Sojiro had gone home to have a relaxing day off, and Akira was out spending time with one of his friends. Futaba wasn't sure which one it was, but she also didn't care.

"I'm so sorry for keeping you waiting, Futaba!" Sayori shouted, interrupting Futaba's irritated train of thought and replacing it with a sense of relief. The ginger-haired girl almost smiled at Sayori, until she thought she noticed something and adjusted her glasses, her face slipping into a frown. Sayori looked even more tired than she had yesterday, with shadowy creases under her eyes and a weakly pasted on smile.

Sayori noticed Futaba's discomfort, and was about to ask what was wrong, when Futaba rapidly shook her head as if to shake off water like a dog. "Thanks for coming, Sayori. You're right on time." Futaba began walking towards the stairs, pointing at the mug behind her, "There's a cup of moderate chocolate that Sojiro made for you. Follow me upstairs so we can play video games."

Sayori was behind Futaba, so she was unable to notice the cold, confident smile that Futaba wore. She grabbed her mug and followed the shorter girl obediently up the stairs, silently wondering why it was so quiet up in Akira's room. Shouldn't a few of the others be here to play games, too? If not, why wouldn't they just play at Futaba's house?

As soon as Sayori was all the way up the stairs, she saw Futaba gesturing insistently at a pile of cushions circling around Akira's TV. The girl got the message and took a seat on the pillows, feeling uncomfortable at the thought of being in the room when Morgana wasn't there. Sayori wondered whether he was safe or not, but everyone had agreed to give him one day to cool off before they got worried.

While Sayori was distracted with her thoughts, Futaba snuck quietly down the first few steps to a door in the arch way that separated the attic from the rest of Leblanc. She gently closed the door and locked it, glad that Sojiro's inability to use tools had made the door backwards, requiring a key to unlock it from inside the room. Futaba once again straightened her glasses and lifted her bangs out of her face with nimble fingers, peering over the railing to see Sayori looking at the stack of game cases Futaba had provided, trying to see what looked the most fun to play.

 _She hasn't noticed… Good,_ Futaba thought with relief, going back up the stairs and crossing the room. She crouched down on the opposite end of the pillows from Sayori, quickly sliding a disc into the console and grabbing her own remote. She smiled in glorious triumph as her plan was working marvelously so far. As the icing on the cake, she was going to whip Sayori's butt at Super Bash Bros.

* * *

They played for about a half hour before Sayori felt it. The hiccup-sensation was beginning to build in her throat, making her feel breathless. Abruptly, she got up and went down the stairs, only to find the door blocking her way. The girl grabbed the knob and twisted it, her hands starting to shake as she realized that it wouldn't turn, and the door wouldn't budge.

"Uh… Futaba. I think the door is stuck. Can you call Sojiro and ask him to come over to let us out? I have to use the bathroom," Sayori lied.

"Oh- oops. My phone is… dead," Futaba replied, pressing the on button of her phone for just a second, grateful for her foresight to shut off her phone before her plan commenced.

"Th- Then do you have a key?" Sayori asked, eyes wide in panic and fear as she began to yank on the door. The feeling in her chest was growing in intensity. She was thankful that she was hidden by the flooring above the stairs, until she looked up and saw Futaba standing at the top of the staircase, staring down at her.

"No, sadly, I don't." Futaba lied, walking down so she was standing next to Sayori, who was giving her a desperate look. The pink-haired girl let out a whimper of protest, and Futaba felt guilt swelling up inside her, but this had to be done. If Futaba confronted her without Sayori knowingly disappearing in front of her, then the girl would probably just deny everything, saying the video evidence Morgana had gotten earlier was photoshopped.

"F-Futaba… Please look away for a few seconds," Sayori whispered, knowing there was no way to hold off the inevitable. She closed her eyes as the sensation of disappearing shot through her like angry lightning.

When Sayori opened her eyes again, Futaba was staring at her. Sayori shut her eyes once again, preparing for the first, only to not hear the mumbles and stutters Futaba often made when she was in distress. Eyes opening in confusion, Sayori looked at Futaba again only to notice the girl was completely calm about the entire thing. Realization dawned as Sayori felt her breath leave her.

"You knew?" She whispered.

"I knew," Futaba confirmed.

"H-How long?"

"Since the trip to the beach. I saw you glitching in the changing rooms," Futaba replied calmly, walking past Sayori and slipping the door's key from her pocket and into the lock.

Sayori looked at Futaba in confusion, barely even noticing the opened door and chance for escape. "Glitching?"

"Yeah. You probably don't know what you look like when you do it, but before you disappear, you look… pixelated, I guess," Futaba clarified with a shrug. The ginger-haired girl walked into the dining area of Leblanc, choosing the booth farthest from the door and sitting down. Sayori followed her in stunned silence.

"Wha… Does… Do any of the others know?" Sayori asked in worry.

"Morgana," Futaba said immediately, noticing how Sayori cringed as soon as the name left her mouth.

"So that's why he said those things," Sayori said to herself sadly.

Futaba nodded solemnly. "He and I were supposed to talk to you about it together today. I'll also admit, I talked about it with that doctor that lives nearby. Dr. Takemi didn't believe me at first, so when you came to Leblanc that one day with Akechi-kun, I had Morgana follow you with a camera attached to him when you suddenly ran out."

Sayori felt herself begin to panic. Futaba and Morgana were one thing, but a doctor she barely knew…

"She and Akira are close friends. He does a lot of tests with the medicine she makes, and takes a lot of it with him on missions, if you recall. It was easy to swear her to secrecy," Futaba said confidently, noticing how Sayori had immediately gone pale. The reassurance seemed to work, as Sayori tried to calm herself down.

"Why… are you confronting me like this?" Sayori asked weakly. "I… I've broken your trust, and the trust of everyone else. I've been lying to everyone!" Sayori shouted, standing up tensely. The guilt was eating her alive! She groaned and shrunk back into her seat.

"You did…" Futaba said calmly. "But I don't think I would tell people if I was slowly glitching out of existence either."

"Slowly… not existing," Sayori mumbled, her eyes growing wide with fear.

Futaba nodded grimly. "Takemi was shocked when she saw the video, and there isn't really a way to diagnose it, but she came up with a theory. If the periods between your glitching gets shorter and shorter, and they last for longer, than eventually you'll d-" Futaba swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat when that word came up. "You'll eventually cease to be," She tried instead.

Sayori shivered at the new knowledge, knowing Futaba wouldn't make a joke about something like her death. "What am I going to do?" She whispered, hoping against all hope that Takemi had been able to come up with a better cure than weekly trips to Mementos.

Futaba shook her head. "I don't know specifically what we can do to fix this… But I think you should tell the others. We have a better chance that way."

Sayori trembled, scared of the idea but understanding. Hesitantly, she nodded. "I will… But it's so hard to say. I don't want to say it more than I have to. Can I wait until Morgana gets back?"

"Well, Morgana already knows anyway… But yeah" Futaba said with a shrug. She was just glad Sayori wasn't putting up much of a fight. "We can tell everyone together, if it makes you feel better.

Sayori smiled gratefully at Futaba. "Thank you. It hasn't been that long since your Palace, but already you've matured so much, Futaba. I don't have a right to be, but I'm proud."

With her objective cleared, Futaba suddenly became bashful at the comment. "Thanks," She said with a flustered blush and a relieved lightness in her voice. Futaba blinked, before a crafty smile appeared on her face. She stood up and gestured behind her to the staircase. "We still have some time before Akira gets back. Want to play some more?"

Sayori let out a happy laugh, even more relieved that Futaba wasn't upset with her. Morgana had been, and Futaba also had every right to be. But now with the truth finally revealed to at least one of them, things were looking a bit brighter. With that thought, Sayori nodded eagerly, and the two hurried back up the stairs.

* * *

Mai Mori looked out at the library with a bored expression on her face. The scheduled crowd of studying students filled up all of the space, but none of them were interested in talking to her. It also seemed like all of the klutzes were busy today too, because nobody tripped and spilled their drinks, which would have been somewhat entertaining along with frustrating. The librarian sighed, not looking forward to another day of loneliness. Her little assistant was too busy with her community service apparently, because Mai had barely seen her since Sayori got back from Hawaii.

"Hey," a random student asked, walking up to the front desk with a rather thick book in hand. "Can you check this out for-"

"Yeah, yeah," Mai said despondently, snatching the book and getting out her scanner. "You seem like a smart person, dear. What do think of this mess with the principal?"

The student looked rather confused. "Uh, I don't-"

"I honestly never cared for the guy, but depending on how the next of the bunch acts, I could be out of a job," Mai continued idly, sizing up the person in front of her. "Champ, what's your name?"

"Uh… Kina-"

Mai quickly found the first "Kina" on the list, and recognized the picture that went along with it as the person who stood in front of her. She handed the book back and resumed her rant. Though it was mostly to herself, the student didn't realize this and continued to stand there, listening helplessly.

"I was talkin' about it with Kawakami earlier, and she said I had nothing to worry about. I can tell the thought of being fired scared her, though. She loves teaching. And I love bein' a librarian… Even if I get the feeling that I should be doing somethin' else, occasionally. It's weird, honestly! I love this job, but sometimes I feel so frustrated and limited for no reason at all. I get guilty even though I am helping people," Mai sulked in her chair.

The principal had definitely been an asshole, who had been gutsy enough to smirk like an evil mastermind when she showed him Sayori's permission slip. There was no doubt in her mind that he had been cooking up some horrible scheme. But for whatever reason he hadn't fired her. Mai could only assume she knew too much, or some spy movie phrase like that.

 _I'm worried about losing my job, but I feel like the reason is all mixed up,_ Mai thought to herself. She looked out once more at the room full of kids. She loved helping them as much as she loved the slow days she had to herself. But more than that, there was this deep frustration in her, and she didn't know why. All she knew was that she associated this frustration with a strange metaphor, which would be that getting fired would put her on the side of an impassable wall that she had practically been able to walk through in the past.

 _I don't get it. Maybe one of the Literature teachers would be helpful or something,_ Mai thought idly as she resumed her work, falling into a natural routine.

* * *

Goro looked up and down the street warily, his senses on high alert. He could have sworn he saw something in the corner of his eye this time! Yet, when he looked directly at the road ahead of him, it looked completely normal. There was no suspicion item or person, and there was no one he recognized from the Conspiracy. The paranoia and stress were getting to him, the detective decided. He ignored the lingering insistence that screamed that there was anything else besides a paranoid assassin making sure he wasn't being followed.

Every hour of every day has been filled with this unknown unease, all starting on the day after Kobayakawa's death. Goro practically jumped at the sight of his own shadow, and couldn't help but feel an odd chill, though there had been no breeze to cause such a reaction. Yet, despite his objections to being called crazy, he had to admit that he knew these melodramatic reactions were all in his head. Like a light switch being switched on and off, the detective was beginning to feel like he had lost his balance, switching back and forth between the usual way he viewed the world and a brief clarity he could never quite grasp.

What was worse, whenever he tried to dig deeper, his head would only become more foggy and resistant to his attempts to uncover the truth. He wanted to uncover that knowledge more than he could even fathom, but it was like there was someone forcing cotton into his head, and ripped from his hands like taking candy from a baby. Goro had nearly forfeited each time, trying to wait for the memories to come naturally, but something told him that it wouldn't work. So with growing frustration, he kept close tabs on the increasing irregularities he constantly, yet briefly noticed.

 _Why does everyone stand in the same place every day? Why do some look so washed out and gray in the subway?_ It was irritating, because people watching didn't do him any favors these days. His tanking popularity had spurred on some very brave people lately, leading to him believing it was simply best to avoid contact when he was out in public. Yet whenever he thought he saw these abnormalities, he'd constantly find himself staring. This drew unwanted attention and glares from many around him, and he couldn't help but he painfully reminded of the days when he had someone to hide behind.

 _She had always been so good at keeping everyone's attention away from me…_ Goro thought to himself with a sad smile. Much of the bad attention had been on her anyway, but his mother had never been tolerant when others tried to bring him into it. The memory of hiding behind her skirt as she shattered a man with calm, yet deadly words brought a new regret to mind. Her wish had always been for him to avoid too much attention, and yet here he was, having regular TV interviews, a gaggle of crazed fans, and a lot of people who wouldn't bat an eye if something happened to him.

He shook himself from the bitterness and self loathing as fast as he could. Feeling sorry for himself wasn't enough to cut it, least of all now. He just had to get to the police station and see what was going on. The damage of Yaguchi's betrayal of justice would definitely have consequences. Some of the officer's might find out what the man did and follow his lead. He was supposed to be a role model, after all. Not to mention, he had a significantly close relationship with Sae, due to a shared childhood together. While he had faith in Sae, he couldn't deny that with her attitude lately, she was just one gentle nudge away from abandoning her beliefs and joining Shido's already large collection of corrupt cops.

It was the truth, and yet he couldn't help but feel as if it was wrong for him to know that, despite his observation of Sae. Did Sae's sister know too? Makoto was a member of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, and she had to know her sister's behavior was getting worse every day. So why hadn't the Phantom Thieves done anything yet? It was concerning, yet Goro felt he had at least two separate answers for that question. Both of them were equally plausible. The first was that Makoto was just waiting for the right moment, or was just having trouble accepting that her sister had a Palace. The second one was… out of his reach.

There it was again. The brief clarity flashed on and off within his head, frustrating him yet again as he tried to find the answer. The only fragment he was able to catch was that it had something to do with him, which could mean anything. He had a friendship with Sae, so the Phantom Thieves could be worried that he would catch them if they went after Sae's heart. Perhaps he was a large part of the reason she had a Palace, and leaving Sae alone would fix the damage. But did the Phantom Thieves of Hearts know this? It was unlikely, especially since they were supposed to be going after Okumura. Besides, that theory was hardly plausible anyway. He didn't know exactly how the process of stealing hearts worked, but he was pretty positive that it didn't work like that.

The other reason he could think of was too ridiculous to even consider. In any case, the Second Coming of the Detective Prince was an obstacle in the Phantom Thieves' path. He was not meant to help them with their crimes. So, being the one to request Sae's change of heart was ridiculous. Goro ignored the snarky voice in his head that told him he had been helping them by keeping their identities and activities secret. He had done that to help Sayori more than any of the others.

With these distracting thoughts, he could almost forget the odd feelings and frustrations. The things he thought he saw were less important than his own mental rambings. Eventually the worries he had about what he might have to do, and how he might need to change his approach, would be replaced by his plans to catch up on schoolwork he had missed due to his recent, exhausting work. That would be when the paranoia would undoubtedly return, but for now he was safe from such things.

For now, his thoughts turned to Okumura, and what might happen when it came time to kill him too. He had turned into a stupid spazz when he had thought about being merciful to Kobayakawa, too worked up over what he wanted and what needed to be done to make any difference. Now it would be another haunting memory, all because he had lost his apathy and allowed the possibility of benevolence when it was impossible. With Okumura, he didn't know if he could even consider making the same mistake. The image of the distorted world peeling away and disintegrating, which started from the exact point where his gunshot had met its mark on the man's head, his own feet, and the principal's corpse like Shadow as it disappeared, nearly overwhelmed Goro. The horror of it all was enough to hide the feeling of fogginess he felt at it as well. There was some aspect of that memory that he could not process. Had he been able to, it would have affected him even now. However, there was only fog.

But he knew the answer was there somewhere. It wasn't clear, but he could just barely see it. The entire experience was trying to see stars through the fog. It was so enticing and alluring that the detective knew he would always try to find out what he was missing, no matter how much he met with failure.

Just before he turned the corner into his own high school, Goro thought he saw something once more and turned, scanning the area. Just as he was about to dismiss it as another trick his mind was playing on him, he realized what he saw. On the other side of the street, Haru Okumura was walking calmly. Doing his best to stay hidden, Morgana walked closely by the girl's side. As if sensing that he was being watched, the cat turned his head in Goro's direction. The detective had already pretended to be directing his attention at something else, looking towards the direction Haru was heading, observing Haru as she seemed unbothered by the cat following her. Obviously, the girl knew Morgana was there.

Goro quickly walked back into the school, his heart racing as he could draw only one conclusion from this. The Phantom Thieves must have already begun their infiltration of Okumura's Palace, or they were going to very soon.

* * *

Sayori frowned at the city before her with the rest of the group. Tokyo was a very large place, and to her friends it probably seemed nearly impossible to find Morgana. However, Sayori knew that if they were meant to find him today, instead of at Okumura's Palace where he said he would be going, there were only so many places they would be able to check. Besides, she had other things to worry about. As soon as they got Morgana back, she would tell the Phantom Thieves about her "glitching" as Futaba had called it. Mona already knew about it, but this gave Sayori more time to get over her nerves, and waiting would mean that Morgana wouldn't feel left out.

 _You still have time,_ Sayori told herself as she opened the group chat. A new message from Akira showed a picture of Morgana and him. She quickly downloaded it and opened the file on her phone. _Just focus on finding Morgana first. He's much more important._ When everyone successfully had the picture opened on their phone, they split into groups and began their search.

There was an odd number of people, so Sayori volunteered to switch groups every once in a while. Akira had wanted to switch too, in order to keep tabs on every body's progress, but that was why they had phones. They had separated into two groups, with Ann, Makoto, and Futaba in one, and Akira, Ryuji, and Yusuke in the other. Sayori started the search with the girls, and they all decided to go to Morgana's favorite sushi place first.

They looked around the outside, checking the streets and alleys that surrounded it for any signs of the furry Thief. After at least ten minutes of investigation, Makoto concluded that he wasn't anywhere near the outside of the building. To avoid getting in trouble for loitering, the girls all decided to go inside to continue their search. While Morgana wouldn't be allowed inside, there was always the chance that he had managed to sneak in. Futaba and Ann looked underneath tables and conveyor belts. Sayori did her best to look in the back area of the shop, while ordering a decent amount of sushi to-go. If they did find the cat today, he would be happy to receive the treat. Meanwhile, Makoto asked the manager if he had noticed the cat from the picture near the restaurant. They were sad to find no trace of Morgana, and crossed that location off of the list.

They decided to check the rest of the street, knowing they had at least an hour until they met with the boys. Yes, they had phones for that, but there was no way to tell if the boys were being truthful about not slacking off. This would also be the point when Sayori switched groups. With the schedule in mind, the girls went to work quickly, doing their best to leave no stone unturned while still having enough time to search other locations.

Sayori couldn't help but wrinkle her nose as their search lead them to a particularly nasty-smelling alleyway. About ten trash cans were spread out, being the evident source of odor.

"Do we really have to check here?" Futaba asked, backing away from the dark, putrid alley. "I doubt Morgana would ever hide in a smelly alley. He's too proud."

"I don't think so either, but we can't rule it out as a possibility. Ann can wait out here with you, Futaba," Makoto offered. The bespectacled girl was about to ask why Sayori wasn't an option, when she noticed the naive girl already taking the lids off of trash cans and looking inside them.

"I'll wait here with Ann," Futaba agreed, watching as Makoto disappeared in the darkness of the alley for a second, before the slight glow of a flashlight highlighted their search.

"So Sayori, how is Mai doing?" Makoto asked, holding back a gag as putrid air invaded her lungs. She noticed Sayori was holding a napkin up to her face, desperately trying to keep the smell from reaching her. Makoto opted to use the same technique, using her sleeve to cover her mouth and nose.

"Mai is doing alright… I think she misses you checking in on her these days. She's so bored!" Sayori tried to giggle, but ended up coughing. She closed the lid on the last trashcan, having found nothing but old fruit and disappointment. "Let's get out of this alley before I lose my sense of smell." Makoto nodded in agreement, and the two quickly ran out.

Getting out her phone's map, Makoto quickly decided where they would head next, and showed it to everyone. It would take a lot of walking, but not enough to warrant a subway ride. The girls took that time to chat.

"So," Ann began, putting her hands behind her back and swaying slightly, "What do you guys think Okumura's Palace will be like?"

"We already know what it is," Futaba stated, her eyes darting around the street they were entering. "It's a Space Station for some reason."

"I know that," Ann said sheepishly. "But do you think it'll be difficult? I'd hate to go in there and find that Morgana is way ahead of us, and that it's so difficult that we'd never catch up to him."

"Well, we have to hope that he hasn't gone in there just yet," Makoto replied. "That's why we're checking this place next. Morgana might come here for surveillance." She gestured to the Big Bang Burger they had come to check. There were a few of them scattered through the large city, so this was only one in a whole slew to check.

"Let's stay together this time," Sayori suggested, the rotten scent of garbage beginning to bother her. She didn't want all of the girls to go through such terrible things, but if they stayed together then she wouldn't either. Makoto immediately nodded in agreement, the scent also clinging to her. The girls got to work, entering the restaurant and beginning their search there.

"Sayori," Ann said after a few minutes of trying to peek behind the front counter. The pink haired girl gave her a quick glance to show that she was listening, before going back to her search. "I've noticed these past few days that you've seemed… off. It only happens when we bring up Akechi." Sayori froze, immediately on edge. This only served to prove Ann's point, prompting her to continue. "Things are going alright with him… right? Does someone need to beat him up?"

"No!" Sayori shouted, louder than she meant to. Several customers glared in the group's direction, causing Sayori to blush and turn away. "It's nothing like that. He's always been pleasant and nice to me… He's been a perfect boyfriend. Not just the TV-version of a perfect boyfriend either. He tries to cook, and I think he's improving. He's much better than me, anyway. And-"

"But…" Ann interrupted, smiling at Sayori teasingly.

Realizing that she had begun to ramble, Sayori blushed and took a deep breath. "But I'm worried that something is going to go wrong. I think… he's keeping things from me, and I'm scared about what's going to happen because of that." Sayori found herself beginning to choke up, and looked to see Ann nodding sympathetically. They continued in their search area, Makoto and Futaba keeping a respectable distance away, but obviously still listening in.

"I can understand that feeling. It was how I felt when Shiho…" Ann didn't continue, sighing sadly. Her friend was doing much better these days, but it was disappointing how much Shiho had drifted from their old group of friends after what had happened. "She's been wanting to see you for a while, Sayori. But when I told her about all of the crazy stuff that's been happening, she didn't want to bother you."

"It wouldn't be a bother!" Sayori insisted, quieter than last time but still loud enough to get her point across. "I should have asked about her. Things have just been really… distracting…" The girl banged her head against the counter in frustration.

"We're getting your order, Miss!" An irritated employee told her, thinking that her frustration was aimed at them. A tray was set before them, and Ann quickly grabbed it, heading to the table Makoto and Futaba were stationed at, using that as their base for observing the greasy environment of the fast food joint.

"Don't worry about it, Sayori. I think it's better late than never," Ann assured, setting the tray on the table. "Maybe we can put a big party together after we find Morgana and steal the Treasure. Then we can invite a bunch of people, including Shiho, of course."

Sayori smiled wistfully. "I think that would be fun. I could invite Mai and Goro…" The girl trailed off as she wondered if the lonely detective would even agree to come, or if it would even be a good idea in the first place.

"We wouldn't be able to tell them the truth about why the party was being thrown," Makoto pointed out. "What would a better reason be?"

"We could just say you all were tired of feeling like loners, and wanted to have a big get-together to bring down your edginess levels," Futaba suggested. "Or it can be an 'Akira found his cat' party?" She shrugged. None of them had found anything as of yet, so finding Morgana would definitely be a good reason to celebrate.

"Those are good ideas, Futaba!" Sayori remarked with a happy smile. Futaba grinned back and tried to wink, only for it to look awkward as her other eye wanted to come down as well. It would have been a sassy reminder that finding Morgana meant that Sayori's time was up for keeping her secret, but all it did was make the childish girl giggle.

"What are we going to do when we find him, anyway?" Makoto asked. "It's Ryuji that really needs to apologize, and apparently Sayori's too, since he acted so hostile… But he might also be too proud to accept any apology. Maybe Ann could try to talk with him?" The brown haired girl pushed her snack away as she realized she wasn't hungry anymore. They could refuel when they met up with everyone else, she just wanted to look for Morgana.

"I'll try talking to him, at least if we find him here. I might not get a chance in the Metaverse," Ann said, thinking of all the dangers that would surround them while trying to attempt such a thing. "Still, you are right that Morgana would probably listen to me, and Akira, too… Hopefully." The blonde pushed away what was left of her fries as well, before looking at the others. "We should get going. I'm sure none of us want the boys to think we're lazy."

"We're finished anyway," Futaba replied, gesturing to her own empty wrapper. Makoto crushed it into a ball and tossed it towards the trash bins near the exit. She reached for Sayori's next, tossing it into the trash just as easily, much to Sayori's shock and dismay.

 _But I wasn't finished eating yet,_ Sayori thought with a pout, before getting up as well. Complaining wouldn't do her any good. Besides, chances were she would be having the exact same thing for dinner, since Goro had run out of the easier things to cook.

Taking one last look around the restaurant, the girls left quickly to search the street the building was in. They only had about fifteen minutes of searching before they would have to leave and meet up, and then it would be back to work. With that in mind, the girls walked fast in order to work fast, checking each alley, and around each of the other buildings. They refused to split up, which lead to many places only being glanced at. The girls also asked as many people as they could about Morgana. For each of their efforts, they were rewarded with no results.

"As long as the boys got the chance to search at least two locations, and we each check two after the meeting, we'll have checked eight places," Makoto stated as they were finishing up. "If we haven't found him by then, we'll check Okumura's Palace."

"Akira did seem serious about finding him, so they've probably checked a ton of places by now," Sayori said, trying to stay positive.

"Yeah," Ann agreed. "Though if Morgana was in any of those places, I'm worried Ryuji might scare him off."

"Nope," Futaba said in a decisive tone of voice. "If Ryuji did end up being a Knucklehead McSpazzington, Akira and Inari would make him stop."

"Well, let's find out what the damage is," Makoto said, a slight smile on her face.

* * *

Sayori looked back and forth between the boys as they checked the last place for the night. They had been searching for nearly an hour, and they barely even talked. Sayori looked down at her clasped hands, feeling awkward in the midst of them. Still, it wasn't her job to worry, so she resumed her task of asking people if they had seen Akira's cat. Luckily, in such a big city like Tokyo, there was never a time when people weren't awake. Meanwhile, Akira asked some friends he knew in the area they were searching, Ryuji checked the alleyways, and Yusuke went into the stores and restaurants that were still open.

 _It's kind of strange how relaxed Ann, Makoto, and Futaba were about finding Morgana, when the boys are so serious about it. You'd think it would be the other way around…_ Sayori asked as she noticed how low her phone battery was starting to get. With no passerby in her immediate vicinity, Sayori turned the device off and tucked it into her jacket pocket. The sky clearly showed that the evening phase of the day was upon them, coloring the sky pink as the sun sank lower into the horizon.

Sayori was distracted for a second by the sight of the sky, and almost didn't hear the sounds of squabbling coming from a gift shop that specializes in ornament and glass products. Casting a worried glance to the other two, Sayori was shocked that Ryuji and Akira didn't seem to hear it. The girl felt practically deafened by it as she slipped into the store to check on Yusuke.

"Yusuke, have you found anything?" Sayori asked, hoping that the one who was arguing with was the cat they were looking for. Sadly, she was only met with the sight of a very grumpy storekeeper telling Yusuke to leave. Sayori glanced at the pouting old man and looked towards Yusuke. "What's gotten his hackles raised?"

Yusuke seemed confused as well, and maybe a bit indignant with the blank, deadpan expression. It was the tone of his voice that expressed his mood more. "I was looking for Mona in this store, and I began examining one of the glass vases on the shelves. It really was an exquisite thing to look at. Though I failed to see the sign that said I cannot touch it if I do not buy it, and…" Yusuke looked down in shame and embarrassment, as the storekeeper found a thing of glass cleaner underneath his desk.

"You don't have any money, as usual?" Sayori said with a giggle. Yusuke nodded, slightly relieved that Sayori understood. The shopkeeper glared at Sayori, not liking the amusement she found in the situation. However, his glare quickly disappeared as Sayori brought out her coin purse. "Goro's emergency allowance should be enough to buy the vase for you, Yusuke. You finish looking for Mona, and I'll get it for you?"

Yusuke smiled gratefully, as the shopkeeper put on a sheepish grin, happy that he wouldn't have to clean his wares, while also getting paid. Yusuke took one last glance around the store, before shaking his head, "I do not believe Morgana would have any interest in this place, and my search has already revealed itself to be unsuccessful. I'll go ahead and take my leave." The artist quickly left the store, his shoulders slumped. Sayori watched him worried, while quickly purchasing the vase. She made sure to show the shopkeeper a picture of Morgana, just in case Yusuke had forgotten. Unfortunately, the man confirmed that he did not remember seeing Morgana, and quickly shooed Sayori out of the store, saying that they were closing soon.

"Well, that was rude," Sayori mumbled. She spotted Yusuke on the other side of the street, peaking in the windows of stores that had already closed for the night, but grimacing each time. He was obviously unsuccessful in finding Morgana, and possibly disappointed in the uninspiring merchandise in the stores. Sayori quickly walked over to him, and held out the padded bag that contained his vase.

"Thank you, Sayori. You saved me from humiliation," Yusuke said, opening the bag to admire the vase.

"It was nothing, Yusuke. Can I ask what you mean by that, though? You seemed so disappointed in yourself earlier," Sayori asked, crossing her arms tightly around herself to keep herself from revealing how shaken up she felt.

"Well, I suppose I was simply ashamed I failed to notice the sign that warned not to touch anything. Normally I am better at noticing my surroundings, right?" Yusuke asked, suddenly wondering if that was the case. After all, there were definitely times where he failed to read the mood of a room. "As an artist, I should be better at noticing things like that. You would not touch a painting in a museum."

"Well, why did you touch it?" Sayori asked. She knew Yusuke wouldn't do something like that without a reason he thought was justified. The action figure incident was proof enough of that. Yusuke had eventually learned the error of his ways during that time, at least.

"I thought I saw a crack in the vase, and I wanted to see if I was right so I could point it out. That man seemed very passionate about the quality and care of his vases, so I wanted him to be aware of it," Yusuke replied, before quickly averting his eyes, the lightest shade of pink appearing on his pale cheeks. "I realized when he got upset that I could have just told him I thought I saw something. Then he could check it for himself."

Sayori nodded understandingly. "Your heart was in the right place. The vase is yours now anyway, so in the end it doesn't really matter. I guess just keep it in mind for the future."

"Of course," Yusuke nodded. "I think this would be a good vase for a still life. It has a lot of raised details that would look good if I could find something worthwhile to put into it." He became lost in thought for a few minutes, before his nose suddenly wrinkled as if he remembered something that upset him. "I have been unsuccessful in finding Morgana. At this point, I have checked all of the buildings I can."

Sayori looked around, eyes widening in realization as she realized just how much time has passed. The only lights were coming from street lamps, while all of the buildings were dark. That meant her job was basically done too. The only people out at this hour that she could ask would be people she would be better off not associating with. "I say we start going home. We'll be going to a Palace tomorrow, after all."

"My thoughts exactly," Yusuke agreed. "Let's let Akira and Ryuji know, and text the rest of the girls, in case they're still out."

"I'll let Ryuji know," Sayori volunteered. Yusuke nodded his consent, and went to find Akira and whoever he was talking with. Sayori quickly found Ryuji in a nearby alley, opening trash cans and slamming the lids down, shoving debris around, and generally making a ruckus. He muttered to himself angrily, not bothering to hide his frustrated scowl as he noticed Sayori standing wearily in the corner.

"What's up, Sayori?" Ryuji asked, his voice full of uncontained sarcasm as he stood up. He kicked a nearby stone, watching as it hit a nearby bin and bounced onto a plastic trash bag, before falling uselessly to the ground. "Have you found the furball, yet?"

"No. Nobody has, as far as I'm aware," Sayori said sadly. Ryuj nodded, suddenly looking very tired. "Yusuke and I thought it might be a good idea to call it a night. What do you think?"

"Yeah, that sounds really good right about now," Ryuji replied, leaning against a wall filled with random graffiti. Sayori noticed the Phantom Thieves logo right above where he was standing, and wondered who painted it. It didn't look professional enough to be Yusuke's work, and she doubted he'd risk getting in trouble with the authorities just for that. Ryuji noticed her stare and looked up too, before his mouth curled into a frown and he shut his eyes tightly. "I don't get it."

Sayori looked down from the painting at the blond, getting the feeling it might be a good idea to lean against something as well. She hesitantly leaned against the wall her back was facing, feeling something squish onto her skirt. She grimaced and pulled back, realizing the squishy thing was also very sticky. She almost gagged in disgust, but quickly composed herself when she noticed Ryuji staring blankly at her. Normally this would be something he might find serious, or worrisome enough for him to try to help. So with little option but to ignore her own distress, Sayori decided to focus on friend for the time being, hoping she could cheer him up.

"What's wrong, Ryuji?" Sayori asked, leaning back onto the wall. The squishy, sticky thing spread past her skirt and onto her leg. It was going to be a pain to get off, and she would most likely need a new skirt, but she found it easy to not care in this situation.

"I just don't know why it had to turn out this way. Mona and I would get into fights a lot, and I said shitty things, but I figured he could take it. I feel really stupid now for eggin' him on," Ryuji suddenly chuckled. "He couldn't be useless, since he's doin' such a good job of stayin' out of sight." He ran a hand through his hair, heaving a heavy sigh.

"I'm sorry," Sayori whispered quietly, looking down in shame.

Ryuji's head shot up in surprise. "The hell are you sorry for? You didn't do anything!"

"That's exactly it, though…" Sayori continued, looking down in shame. "I didn't do anything. I couldn't stop your argument. It's always been my job to play the mediator, and I couldn't even do that. And- And- I-" _I kept things from you, and I've broken all of your trust, even if you don't know it, yet._

"Sayori, you tried!" Ryuji interrupted. "You weren't a part of that fight, and you had no effin' reason to butt in! But in the end you tried to help us get over ourselves. It's not your fault Mona and I are both knuckleheads!" He walked over and pulled her away from the wall, grimacing in disgust at the small string of bright green gum that extended from the girl's skirt to the wall. "For real? You must have known this was here."

Sayori stiffened in embarrassment as Ryuji pulled on the string, not daring to get close enough to touch the actual skirt. "I guess I just wanted to get you out of your funk, but then I got into one of my own." She forced a laugh, only to find Ryuji looking unamused, pulling her all the way from the wall.

"Well, mission accomplished, I guess," the blond replied, a grin splitting his face after a few seconds of staring Sayori down. "I think I'm outta my funk now, thanks to you."

"That's good," Sayori said with a relieved smile. She relaxed a bit as she paused to examine her ruined skirt. She would have to find a way to clean it, of course.

"My clothes get messy all the time," Ryuji said with a shrug. "My mom knows how to get all kinds of stuff out. Just wash it by hand and make sure you scrape it all off before you throw it in the wash." Sayori nodded, a small smirk appearing on her face. Obviously, Ryuji knew a lot about that, too.

"Well, let's meet Akira and Yusuke so we can go home," Sayori said, turning to leave.

"Hell yeah! I'm tired as a dog. Normally I stay up late playin' games and stuff, but all this searchin's wore me out," Ryuji exclaimed, his point being illustrated with a wide yawn as he followed Sayori out.

"Isn't the expression 'sick as a dog?'" Akira asked, walking up to them. Yusuke had already gone home, needing to get to his room at Kosei before curfew.

"Whatever, man. Dogs are super tired too, right?" Ryuji said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Not unless they're really old," Akira pointed out. "Otherwise they're just hyper balls of fluff. Basically they're Sayori."

"Is that a compliment?" Sayori asked, squinting at Akira.

"Yes."

"Oh. Okay."

Ryuji snorted at the exchange, before turning to Akira. "Hey, leader, what did your friend say?"

"Not even Chihaya had anything to say. She just said I'd find him when our paths were ready to cross again," Akira said, a disappointed scowl seeming to have settled permanently on his face. "I've asked everyone I can think of, and the only thing I got out of it was a promise for them to keep an eye out."

"That's something, right?" Sayori asked. Akira nodded, for the first time looking slightly grateful all day, before it disappeared. The boy obviously missed Morgana, having been in such close proximity to him for so long. Sayori frowned, determined once again to cheer up a friend. She glanced at Ryuji, catching his eye. She inclined her head to Akira and imitated his droopy frown, before looking back at Ryuji.

Ryuji processed the silent message he had been given, trying to make sense of it before things got too awkward. Before he could wander too far off on tangents, his mind brought up the event of just moments before, when Sayori had cheered him up. He then smirked and nodded slightly to the girl. Akira didn't seem to notice, so Ryuji was quick to put on a tired act, which was thankfully much better than Ann's acting. He brought up his shoulders and stretched, bringing out another yawn.

"Man, I'm pooped. I'm gonna get goin', you guys. See ya tomorrow!" The blond then quickly walked away, heading back towards his home.

Sayori smiled in appreciation, before adjusting her expression. She widened her eyes in order to appear more innocent, and turned to Akira. "Akira, can you walk me home? I feel like it's kind of too late for me to be walking alone…"

Akira narrowed his eyes at the girl. Sayori only widened her eyes in innocence even more, a clear challenge. Akira accepted, and the two found themselves in a staring contest. Sadly, when someone's eyelids are pressed closer together, they really just want to close all the way. Akira blinked, causing Sayori to cheer. The ebony haired boy conceded, before turning away to begin the journey to Goro Akechi's apartment.

"So, are you upset at Ryuji?" Sayori asked, not even bothering to hide her motive as she walked by her leader's side.

Akira sighed, shaking his head with a frown. "Of course not. I'm mad at the situation more than anything."

Sayori nodded, putting her hands behind her back in an attempt to look more serious. "That's good… Are you sure you're not mad at yourself, though?"

"You really do ask loaded questions a lot."

" _Akira_."

"Fine, fine. Yeah, I do. Morgana and I are roommates, basically. We spend almost all of our time together, and he's always had my back," Akira adjusted his glasses, glaring out of them as he noticed just how dirty they were.

"So you feel bad for not having his back during the argument?" Sayori asked, beginning to feel confused. Then wouldn't that mean he really _was_ upset at Ryuji?

"No. I guess I'm upset I didn't see it coming. I probably had numerous chances in the past to stop him from feeling worthless… But I passed them all up, and now it's too late," Akira looked down as his face scrunched up, trying to keep his composure relaxed.

Sayori thought once again back to her own roommate situation with Goro. They were definitely more than just that, but she understood the feeling of missed chances. She had probably also missed a million opportunities to help Goro. She had tried, and she still did, but it never seemed like enough. "I know the feeling," She finally said, watching as Akira turned to her, eyes wide in shock and confusion.

"But you and Akechi-"

"Are boyfriend and girlfriend, so it's definitely different from you and Morgana. But as you've heard from him, he has a lot of issues with his childhood, and that's caused him a lot of problems… One of the most important ones is the issue of his self esteem." Sayori explained.

Akira nodded, thinking back to that date the two had at Leblanc. It seemed any decent human interaction was enough to get that detective to overshare. Tea had helped as well. According to Futaba, it had mysterious "familial" powers. "I see where you're going with this."

"Yeah. I try really, really hard to make himself see that he isn't scum of the Earth that deserves to go die in a hole, but he doesn't really listen to me. I think we really both just need a good therapist, sometimes," Sayori continued, pondering for a second if she knew anyone that could fill that role. However, she came up blank, and quickly got back to the topic. "Anyway, that's a 'me and Goro' problem, Let's get back to you. Basically, it would have been hard to make Morgana listen. Akira, I find it hard to believe you were completely unhelpful in keeping Morgana's spirits up. He would have deserted a lot faster if you weren't there."

"Morgana is more loyal than that!" Akira defended, standing straighter as he prepared to defend his friend. However, it only took him a few moments to relax before he looked at Sayori calmly. "You were going to say, 'That's exactly what I meant.' Right?"

'Yup!" Sayori chirped. "My friends are such smart cookies! I'm so proud!"

"You're not my teacher," Akira said. "But I suppose you did teach me something. You cheered me up."

"I think I deserve a gold star, then," Sayori shouted, getting way too into the teacher role.

"You can ask Akechi for one then. I'm sure he would give you something much better than a gold star," Akira replied, catching Sayori's attention. He pushed up his glasses and smirked at the girl, watching as she began to blush.

"Very mature."

"And very related," Akira said, pointing to a street sign. "We're only a couple blocks from the apartment. I have to get back to the store before Sojiro has my hide. I don't have Morgana at the moment, so I need to keep track of this stuff on my own."

"Yeah, go ahead and leave me here. I can handle it this far," Sayori assured. Akira nodded, before running back the way they had come. Sayori allowed her mind to wander for only a few seconds, before she saw a familiar someone walking right by her, in the direction Sayori was going in as a matter of fact.

"Haru!"

The girl in question froze slightly as she recognized the voice. Haru slowly turned, regarding Sayori with a sweet smile. "Hi, Sayori. How are you?"

Sayori, unable to contain her excitement, ran up to the poor girl. She was able to resist giving Haru one of her most tightest, bone crushing hugs, instead grasping Haru's cold hands in her own.

"It's been some time since we last saw each other. I don't think I've seen you once in the hallways," Sayori gushed.

Haru suddenly looked down nervously. "Ah, yes. I've been busy with a couple of… family matters… Could we move?"

"Huh? Why?" Sayori asked, looking around. "I'd get it if there were a lot of people out, but the streets are pretty empty. We aren't getting in anybody's way."

"I know… But I guess I'm just trying to keep a low profile. Someone associated with my father wanted me to meet with them, and they said to be discreet," Haru explained, before she suddenly blushed in humiliation. "Ah, I did it again! I suck at this covert, espionage stuff!"

Sayori blinked in shock. She didn't think Haru had ever been that loud before. Soon enough, though, the content of the girl's words processed in Sayori's mind. "What do you mean 'again?'"

"Nothing!" Haru squeaked, avoiding the other girl's eyes. Sayori suddenly took notice of a very large, black backpack on Haru's back. Had she just seen it rustle?

"Sayori, it's been a lovely chat, but I really need to get going. I've been out too late as it is, and my father is probably expecting me home about now," Haru shoved past Sayori, deciding it was best to abort her mission. Besides, whatever someone like the "Second Coming of the Detective Prince" had to say to her, it was certainly unimportant. Morgana seemed to agree with her decision to leave, rubbing against her back from the inside of the backpack.

"Wait!" Sayori shouted. "I need to ask you-" _Ask her what? If she's seen Morgana? If she knows her father is on the Phansite?_ Sayori struggled to get either questions out, and by the time she thought of something to say, Haru was out of sight.

Sayori sighed in disappointment. Both of those questions probably had pretty obvious answers. Okumura being the supposed next target of the Phantom Thieves was all over social media, so of course Haru would know about it. Nobody else had seen Morgana, so what were the odds Haru had seen him anyway? Perhaps more significant, since she was related to the target he was after, but still very low. With those dejected thoughts, Sayori turned back around and continued on her way to the apartment.

* * *

"Holy crap, this place is huge…" Ryuji said, his mouth agape as he took in the corporate tower of Okumura Foods.

"It is the headquarters of a large corporation, after all," Yusuke agreed, glancing up as well.

"If anything, getting into the real building is impossible…" Futaba said glumly, looking down at her shoes and giving the ground an angry kick.

Sayori looked at the building as well. It was impressive in size, but obviously not impenetrable. If she squinted from where she stood, she could see the shattered windows, and somewhere on the property was a damaged statue from the previous day's news report. Whether this was Morgana's doing or not was up for debate, since there was no signs of a break-in.

"Mona seriously went to a Palace based on somewhere like this?" Ryuji shouted, stomping the ground. However, his somber expression betrayed some of the newfound respect for the cat that he was slowly gaining.

"It's definitely on a different scale than the ones we've dealt with previously…" Makoto said, an analytical expression on her face.

"I hope the Palace doesn't tower over us as much," Sayori mumbled, shivering slightly at what they might have to deal with in there.

"It all depends on how bad Okumura's distorted heart is," Yusuke stated, his eyes narrowing slightly as he began to consider the possibilities as well.

"I searched Okumura online. He's totally up to something," Ryuji declared, turning to Akira with a stubborn determination. "Don't you think he's guilty too?"

"We'll know soon enough," was all Akira offered. The leader looked around at the group, slowly gaining everyone's eye contact as their attention was drawn away from the building.

"I'm positive I'm right!" Ryuji exclaimed, shoulders straight in confidence.

"It makes me happy that you're sure of your answer, Ryuji," Sayori said with a smile, before a frown slowly took over her face. "But remember the top reason we're here," the girl cautioned.

"We're here for Mona." Futaba said bluntly, causing Ryuji to slump over.

"I know, I know," the blond said. "We gotta make sure we squeeze the juice on those mental shutdown things outta him too."

 _What an odd choice of words,_ Sayori mused to herself. She wondered if she would get to be a part of all of this banter when she finally told everyone the truth about herself. It was nerve wracking to experience, and she felt sympathy for Goro in that moment. He's been hiding a far more terrible secret from everyone, and for much longer too. Sayori not only had the two luxuries of less time keeping the secret hidden, and a much less burdensome secret to carry. Not to mention, Futaba was offering her support too.

"You said you found the Palace keywords, right, Futaba?" Makoto asked as Sayori resumed her focus on the conversation.

"The 'corporate HQ' is 'outer space!'" Futaba said in a singsong voice, clearly proud of herself.

"Huh? The hell?" Ryuji gaped, shocked at the size the Palace currently sounded like.

"Oh… So that's why it's called Big Bang Burger. Big bang is space lingo, y'know," Ann realized. Everyone gave her a deadpan look.

"Um, not necessarily…" Makoto mumbled shyly, before continuing on as if the past few seconds had never happened. "So the concept behind the store-branch name came from the CEO himself."

"Outer space, hm? How exciting…" Yusuke said with a smile that could be considered giddy.

"We better be able to breathe once we get in there." Ryuji joked, sparking a second of real worry and fear in everyone.

"If Morgana can survive in there, then I'm sure it's safe for us too," Sayori said hesitantly, trying to reassure everyone. She ignored the logic that they had no idea how Morgana was doing, so their own safety was still unknown.

Suddenly determined, Makoto took out her phone. "Is everyone ready? I'm activating it now."

Sayori and everyone nodded, and soon enough, Makoto was reaching up to touch the button. Right as the dizzying, blurring feeling of being pulled into the Metaverse started, Sayori felt a strong dizziness start in her head. Pinching the bridge of her nose to relieve the disorienting pressure, she glanced off to the side and nearly screamed.

A flash of brown locks and caramel eyes quickly went back to their hiding place behind a large stone bulletin board area, and Sayori panicked as a million thoughts entered her mind at once. Did he know that she had seen him, or had he only hidden so he could avoid detection? The thought calmed her slight, because knowing Goro, if he knew that she knew, he would not have bothered trying to hide. He would have held her eyes, letting her know that he felt betrayed, saddened, or perhaps even angered. Sayori knew she wouldn't be able to figure it out until she was back in the apartment, but she turned back anyway.

However, when she looked back in the direction she had been facing, the normal world was replaced with a dark gray wall. Sayori looked down at herself, taking note of her gold-lined black coat, and feeling the weight of her mask on her face. The infiltration of Kinukazu Okumura's Palace had officially begun for the remaining members of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.

* * *

After going down an elevator, the group began scanning the halls of the Palace. They hadn't run into anyone yet, which was surprising in a good and bad way. So far. They hadn't run into any Shadows or the Palace's ruler, which was good. But on the other hand, they haven't seen Mona yet, either. Luckily, it wasn't long into their infiltration until they found something of interest…

"Huh? What's all that noise?" Skull asked suddenly. They were at the end of a hallway, and one of the airlock doors had opened. Everyone listened for what Skull was asking about, finally hearing the sound of metal scraping on metal not far ahead. The group went forward, their curiosity causing them to investigate.

"What is that?" Fox asked quietly. They arrived at a railing. Below them was a hangar, with shelves of heavy crates, and filled with many workers pushing carts in organized lines. The workers, obviously, were what caught the young artist's attention.

"Robots? There're tons of 'em," Skull said. His face was calm, though his voice was filled with something akin to shock and awe.

"They all have the Big Bang Burger logo," Panther observed.

Valiant looked down at the large assembly of Shadows. They went about their work quickly, without breaks. They were drones to this hive, and all of the thieves were growing suspicious about what they were meant to represent in Okumura's distorted vision.

"They're saying something…" Oracle suddenly said, prompting the others to be quiet as she listened to the robots say something only she was able to hear. "'You must adhere to your shifts… If you don't like it, you can quit… However, you will not be compensated…"

"What're they talkin' about?" Skull asked.

"Oh!" Panther suddenly exclaimed. A robot in the assembly suddenly fell forward.

Valiant couldn't help but wince in sympathy. She wondered if the robots could feel exhausted. Clearly the one they had just seen fall had burnt itself out. More importantly, knowing the comments people had been making about Okumura, it was crystal clear what they represented. The final straw came when a group of robots came to collect the body, a new one taking the fallen's place.

"They said… 'It's being disposed of," Oracle said quietly.

"These robots are part of Okumura's cognition, correct? That means they represent…" Fox trailed off.

"Don't tell me…" Joker looked down at lines of diligent workers, gritting his teeth.

"This is pure speculation…" Queen said thoughtfully, "But this is most likely how the workers of Okumura Foods are viewed by their CEO."

"What happens to the people that become burnt out like that?" Valiant whispered fearfully. Her hands gripped the railing tightly. Obviously, common workers that got tired of working were fired… But all the same, being "disposed of" made it sound much worse. Knowing so many mental shutdowns surrounded Okumura didn't ease her nerves at all.

"So he thinks they're his robots!?" Panther shouted, shattering the uncomfortable silence that had settled over the group.

"If they're treated like this in reality as well… then the company truly is exploiting them," Fox said gravely. In the corner of his eye, he easily observed Valiant staring down at the drone robots sadly, lost in regret and sorrow filled thoughts. He put a hand on her shoulder as the rest of the group seemed to find their motivation to continue to reach new heights.

"See? Okumura _is_ a piece of shit! Just like I said," Skull shouted. He was incredibly angry at it, but he also felt a strange sense of pride at being right.

" _Mona_ is our main objective here," Oracle reminded the blond, her determination obvious. Even though they couldn't see her eyes, it was plainly obvious she was staring Skull down.

"Yeah, we can come back later to fix this…" Valiant stated it as a fact, because she knew that inevitably they would steal this Treasure as well. Aside from knowing that this wouldn't be here if they weren't meant to complete the Palace, she knew that none of her friends would ignore the responsibilities of a Phantom Thief of Hearts.

"Yes. Once we get Mona, we'll discuss what to do, and decide whether or not we should continue our infiltration," Joker decided. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"He doesn't seem to be anywhere nearby. Let's search further in," Queen suggested. The group noticed a door on the opposite end of the platform they were on, and began to make their way towards it.

"Dammit…" Skull muttered, before following behind.

"Hm? Skull, normally you're faster than me," Valiant reminded him as he trailed behind her.

"What am I suppose to say when we do find Mona?" Skull asked quietly as Joker lead their search into a dead end hallway. "Saying I'm sorry won't just cut it for him, I bet."

"You never know. I have to apologize too," Valiant said. "And I have to keep my promise…"

"What was that?"

"Uh… Nothing. We have to focus on the mission for now, anyway," Valiant said quickly. Skull shrugged half heartedly.

* * *

"Hold on a second, Joker!" Oracle suddenly called. They came to a stop as the airlock door in front of them slammed closed.

"The door has closed. Is there any way by which we can open it?" Fox asked as they all examined the door, looking for any signs of how to unlock it.

Joker stepped forward. He seemed to set off a motion detector, as a message suddenly appeared on the black monitor above them.

" _Performing biometric scan,"_ a robotic voice read aloud.

"What does it mean by that?" Queen asked, tapping her chin. Suddenly, they heard the sound of a buzzer going off.

" _Authorization error,_ " the System said. " _Only registered personnel may proceed past this point._ "

"This security system might be a bit of a problem…" Oracle muttered, doubtful of what to do next.

"The hell's up with this!?" Skull shouts, banging a fist up against the door. When that didn't work he began ramming his shoulder into it, frustration clear as he released a low growl.

"Look at it… There's no way we can force that thing open," Panther pointed out. Skull grumbled but agreed, stepping away from the door. The group gathered in a circle.

"We've hit a blockade quite early. Will we have to control the real Okumura's cognition to pass?" Fox asked. Queen grimaced at the idea, knowing that influencing a popular CEO was going to be much more difficult than the previous targets. Still, her eyes lit up in realization.

"Oh, that means Mona hasn't been able to proceed any further either," Queen confused. "So if he's here in the Palace, he would have to be somewhere before this door…"

"Halt vigilante!" An unknown voice called from above. The group looked up to see a shadowy figure standing all the way on top of one of the shelves.

"Wh-Who's that!?" Skull asked, slightly fearful. In response, the future stepped out of the shadows, revealing herself to be a very familiar girl.

"Those clothes…" Queen trailed off, deciding to ignore the girl underneath in favor of staring at the mask on her face. It was as black as obsidian. "Could she be?"

"A black mask?" Panther mumbled, looking down as she thought about the very little she knew about the girl from the Hawaii trip.

"Guys… You recognize her?" Valiant asked, her voice barely above a whisper as she realized what conclusion her teammates must be coming to. She knew who Black Mask was, so if push comes to shove, was this the point in time where she changed things? Was she supposed to tell everyone, right here and now, who Black Mask was?

"Of course…" Panther whispered. "How could we not?"

"What are you guys talking about?" Oracle asked. Everyone remembered that the girl hadn't met Haru yet. Though obviously, now wasn't the best time for introductions.

"More importantly… as Panther pointed out… That mask," Fox continued, causing Sayori to deflate as the artist brought the subject back on track. "Could she be the one Madarame and Kaneshiro were talking about?"

"So… she's the reason for all those people goin' brain dead!? It was _her_ this whole time!?" Skull shouted, his voice full of rage as he glared at Haru.

"No… We're jumping to conclusions!" Valiant shouted, running up to stand between the blond and Haru. The girl had been standing there silently the whole time, observing the group. She couldn't help but feel that she had been witness to this dynamic before.

"Have you been following us this whole time, Haru!?" Fox yelled at her, making sure to use her real name. It sounded as if he were scolding a disobedient child instead of addressing what could be an enemy.

The artist's accusation quickly brought Haru out of her silent streak. "How do you know my name?" she shouted. The girl couldn't help but be fearful as she looked around nervously. Mona had said that they had to use code names here. Was this why? Or would a bunch of Shadows jump out of nowhere and attack her?

"Enough of your misunderstandings!" Mona suddenly shouted with a maniacal laugh, jumping down from his hiding place to stand beside her.

"Mona!" Oracle shouted, eyes widening. She smiled in relief.

"You're okay!" Panther seemed to light up beside their newest member.

"I'm so happy!" Valiant seemed ready to cry. They could all make up! She wasn't even worried about telling them her secret now, knowing that things could still be fixed.

"Long time no see, Panther," Mona said, deliberately looking away from Valiant. It was clear that he did not share similar sentiments.

"I'm being ignored… I guess you're still mad at me…" Valiant murmured, noticeably deflating. However, she was quick to brighten herself back up again, grinning at Mona. "That's okay!" Mona obviously needed some space from her. Obviously, he'd rather talk to his crush rather than to her.

"Uh, it hasn't been that long," Skull said, acting nonchalant. After a few seconds of awkwardly staring up at Haru and Mona, he leaned over to Valiant and whispered, "He'll get over it." He grinned as she smiled gratefully at him. Apparently, the girl had also done something wrong in the cat's eyes, so the least he could do was make her feel better.

"If you came for the Treasure, you should just go home with your tail between your legs," Mona said, putting his hands on his hips.

"Actually, we were looking for you," Fox explained. The clarification didn't seem to mean anything though, as Mona simply blinked and gestured to Haru.

"The Treasure will be taken by me and this…"

"You and Haru are taking the Treasure?" Valiant interrupted. "Maybe we can-"

"This Beauty Thief!" Mona declared, not wanting to hear the girl's words. The more he thought about it, the more he was beginning to see through Sayori. No matter how well intentioned they are, he was done with her lies!

"Beauty Thief?" Queen asked, looking unimpressed. "Did you only just decide a code name so we wouldn't know who it is?"

"Kinda too late for that," Skull muttered, scuffing the toe of his boot against the metal floor. The metal rubbing against metal created a screeching sound loud enough to have everyone looking around warily for Shadows.

"Quiet! I'll have you know she's a Persona-user too!" Mona said proudly, tapping against her leg, he nodded at his comrade. She nodded back, remembering the confrontation they had rehearsed.

"My name is Beauty Thief!" Haru said, sounding slightly uncertain, though her face looked calm. Mona began to feel worried, but knew they could work on her confidence later.

"She really called herself that?" Panther asked, looking stupefied at the mere notion. Mona began to feel that they needed to work on his code names too.

"Any tension that was in the air has just gone out the window…" Fox said, straightening from his crouching posture from earlier. Haru and Mona jumped from the shelf, making sure to include an impressive flip, before landing in a crouch.

"We will take the Treasure!" Haru declared, gripping the brim of her hat and pointing at the group. The strangers seemed unimpressed with their poses.

"Mona already said that…"

"You are not qualified to be-" Haru began her scripted accusations, before she noticed something oddly familiar about the group. Now that they were closer…

"Wait… Sayori!? Then that means you were never Phantom Thieves fanatics!" The girl cried, pointing at the rest of the group who she quickly realized were Sayori's friends. The pink haired girl looked like she wanted nothing more than to sink into the ground, the cape at the tail of her jacket trailing after her. Haru couldn't blame her, as the rest of the Phantom Thieves all gave Sayori a bewildered look.

"What's she talkin' about?" Skull asked, leaning over to Sayori and putting a hand on the other side of his face, as if to block the conversation from other ears.

"Uh… About that…" Valiant stuttered, her cheeks turning pink as she folded her hands together. Only now did she remember the lame excuse she had given Haru, just in case one of them accidentally said something about the Phantom Thieves.

"Beauty Thief…" Mona muttered as he kept his mouth as he kept his mouth stuck in that confident smile, "Remember that we went over this."

"Oh, right," Haru said, recovering from her previous shock. There would be time for questions later. "You are not qualified to be phantom thieves! Do you even understand what it means to be a phantom thief? An admirable phantom thief is…" She realized she couldn't remember what she was supposed to say, the surprise of seeing Sayori knocking the lines out of her mind.

"Yeah, tell them!" Mona encouraged.

She had to think fast! Looking around, she spotted the one that Mona had described as the leader and pointed at him. "You! What do you think it means?" Obviously, if he was as bad as Mona said, he wouldn't know it.

"One who helps the weak," Joker said casually, his expression stony. He knew that Mona was mad at them, but he didn't have to make another girl insult the team for him.

"Yes, that's right?" Haru looked confused as he gave the right answer, before quickly regaining her composure. "Enough with the idle chit chat!"

"You started it…"

"I think she just wants to change the subject…" Valiant whispered to Panther, before calling out to Haru, "Hey, Beauty Thief, is it right to assume you had Mona with you last night? I totally missed that."

Haru looked at Mona for help. He gave her a pointing gesture, and Haru remembered what she was supposed to do. "You!" Haru pointed at the blue haired one with the fox mask.

"Me?" Fox asked, looking bewildered.

"Learn to take a hint!" Haru shouted, before moving on to decide who to confront next.

"Huh?" Fox looked even more confused, and almost dejected. Valiant and Oracle reached over to give him pats on the shoulder, though Oracle's was more of pity than of sympathy, as Valiant's was.

Haru then moved onto the "blond chimp" as Morgana had described him. "And you! You're very vulgar… and very stupid!"

"What!?" Skull yelled, shocked at the bluntness of the insult.

"That was rude…" Valiant murmured, before releasing a yelp as Haru pointed the finger at her next.

"You! You are not a team player, and… don't stick to your ideals?" Haru felt confused. Before, just by looking at the other two, she could almost tell in their expressions that what she was accusing them of was true. But what had Mona meant by this insult? Haru was about to look down and ask the cat, when the brown haired spiky girl unleashed an intense glare upon the two. Haru almost expected to see laser beams shoot out.

"That's uncalled for!" Queen yelled furiously, looking ready to fight.

"Yeah! Val may have her secrets, but so do the rest of us," Oracle said with an angry pout. She looked down at the cat in disappointment, "Mona, what are you trying to do by putting these things in Beauty Thief's head? You're a naughty cat!"

"No, it's fine, you guys…" Valiant said nervously, putting a hand on each of their shoulders. "Let's try to be professional about this. Mona was always bothered by us being immature."

"Yet he came all the way here… Just to say that," Queen said harshly. Then she said something that shocked both of the groups as she looked directly into Haru's eyes, making the girl shiver a bit at the cold, calculation hidden in them. "Since he has Beauty Thief with him, I'm guessing they can get past this biometric scan, right?"

"Yeah… And it kinda feels like she ain't dangerous at all…" Skull muttered, once again relaxing.

"We _will_ take the Treasure!" Haru yelled once again, unsure what they could do to save face. Her cheeks burned with humiliation as she went to the scanners above the door.

"You already said that…" Oracle said once again.

"We don't have time to chat!" Mona yelled as he went to Haru's side. The scanners quickly began, flashing green and beeping in confirmation only a few seconds later.

As the door slid open, Joker turned to Queen. "Looks like you got it in one," he said as the girl continued to fume. However, before she could say anything rash, Panther jumped back from the door, a shout of surprise echoing around the people in the room as they follow her lead.

"Where did they come from!?" Valiant yelped in fear, crouching down in a defensive pose.

"Here they come!" Fox warned. As soon as those words left his mouth, Haru began to freak out. All she could do was gawk in shock as she took a slow step away from the multiple robots that had gathered behind the door they had opened. Thankfully, Mona tugged at her leggings, giving her a stern look.

"Snap out of it! We need to go!" the cat ordered, before turning tail and sprinting away. Haru nodded and trailed after him, letting him lead her to the exit they had established.

"We'll meet up later at our usual spot! Let's hurry!" Queen demanded seconds later as the group knew the enemies were too much for them to face at the moment. Everyone gave a quick nod as well and scattered. When they reached the place they had started at, the MetaNav was quickly activated. Soon enough, the world once again to warp and distort as it sent them back to their reality.

* * *

Sayori sighed as she read the latest message on her way home. Everyone had decided to confront Haru at school the next day, and they were currently texting about how exactly they could even approach her. One thing they were all wondering was why Haru was doing this in the first place. Was it simply because of the way Okumura treated his employees? Sayori couldn't help but think that there was more to it. After all, looking back on the trip to Hawaii, Haru had always looked uncomfortable about something. Every single night after she had called Goro, Haru had looked so miserable.

 _Sure, there was a Big Bang Burger in Hawaii, but Haru didn't look nearly as uncomfortable around those. So it has to be something else,_ Sayori reasoned with herself as she made her way around the last corner. The shabby apartment building was now within her view, and staring at it, she realized with sudden sorrow how pointless it was to try to figure out how people were feeling all by herself. The only accurate way was to ask questions and have that person answer for themself.

 _I can do that with Haru tomorrow, so there's no point in worrying about it now._ Sayori shook her head and cleared her thoughts as she walked into the building.

One of the good things about being a part of the Phantom Thieves was that when she arrived here so late in the night, the cramped lobby was basically deserted. This was truly a blessing as she quietly took a moment to lean against the front desk. She had never seen someone behind this desk, and Goro made all of his rent payments over the phone. In many ways, this lobby was pointless, but it gave her these few precious seconds to think things through once again.

Sayori knew Goro would be back by now. The only question was whether or not he would still be up. But even that question was almost certainly answered. Ever since she had come home injured that one time, he had made a point of waiting there almost every time she left to do her duty as a Phantom Thief. Even though they couldn't bring themselves to talk to each other right now, Sayori knew that would still be the case.

She couldn't keep him waiting.

Sayori took a calming breath as she finally made the journey up the stairs. It was a slow ascent, but eventually she managed to cross the hall to the door. It was unlocked, confirming that the detective would indeed be waiting for her. The girl held her breath as she waited for any signs of the warmth that she always felt coming in here. It had gone away so suddenly, and Sayori found herself missing it almost desperately. Would it ever come back?

 _It will… It has to… Please…_ Sayori couldn't take it anymore. She twisted the knob open all of the way and stepped quickly inside. She faced the door for a moment as she closed and locked it for the night. The thudding beat of her own heart made it hard to tell, but she already knew Goro would be on the couch when she turned around.

She just didn't know that it would be like this.

"Welcome… back," the detective managed, making brief eye contact with her before they quickly dropped back to their previous blank state. Goro was currently sprawled on his side on the couch, fully dressed in his detective outfit. Even his gloves and shoes were still on. His suitcase lay on the coffee table, unopened.

"Goro, why… What happened!?" Sayori trembled as she rushed over and kneeled by the couch, up close, the detective looked exhausted, and she trembled as she reached over to brush away hair from his forehead, which was currently plastered to his forehead with sweat. "Have you been wearing this all day? You're burning up!"

The detective reached over and grabbed her hand, bringing it down to his eyes to look at it. Sayori shivered at the contact, unable to stop herself from thinking about the horrible things the hand that held hers had done.

 _Yet they hold you like you're a precious flower…_ A gentle but firm voice spoke inside of her head, and Sayori managed to avoid trembling as Goro looked up at her. His eyes looked so dead and tired.

"Sayori, I…" _I have to kill again._ "Something awful might happen soon, and depending on the outcome of what I do, there's something I want you to know," The detective felt himself begin to tremble as his eye twitched. Everywhere he looked, he saw it. Everything he heard was the same. Even his sense of touch was corrupted. His senses were muddled and unclear, flashing on and off like a light, and the only thing clear in his vision was _her._

"Goro, it's alright. You don't have to tell me," Sayori whispered, giving him a reassuring smile even as her better sense of judgement wanted to scream at him to say something.

"Not yet…" The detective mumbled, blinking sluggishly. He seemed to curl in on himself, unable to handle the sudden clarity that Sayori brought with her. He felt her hand comb through his hair, and hissed as it burned against his scalp. The only thing he could thing he could think about at this moment was what he had to do next. Okumura was a target of the Phantom Thieves now, and he would be the next that Akechi would have to kill. It was the only thing he could focus on, the only thing he could focus on. His goal… His revenge… It was within his reach. All he had to do was kill Okumura and crush the Phantom Thieves. It would be easy. Okumura was nothing but an annoying thorn, and he held no connection the thieves. It would be simple, just like always. It was what he always has done. He was alone and unwanted and-

"Goro! You need to calm down!" Sayori flooded his vision, grabbing the sides of his face and wiping at tears with her thumb. Were they his? He couldn't tell.

"I want to see your friends again… They were fun," The detective murmured, wanting to avert his eyes from Sayori as she furrowed her brows in confusion.

"They're your friends too. Or at least they will be," Sayori said, her voice cracking at the end as she thought about it. _I should have been able to help him more than this…_ She looked down at her Goro, trying to put a smile on his face. She could never let him know just how terrified she was in this situation. Was he going to reach his tipping point and kill her?

 _No, he won't hurt me…_ Sayori thought to herself as the detective gripped her hands, still holding his face gently. _He's a killer, a murderer, and probably a monster in the eyes of many… But he won't hurt me._

The silence stretched on. Eventually, Goro carefully removed Sayori's hands from the sides of his face. Despite the sentiments and affections they had just shared, Sayori could not deny the feeling of fear and uncertainty swelling in the air between them. They glanced at each other nervously, both unable to articulate the words they wanted to say to make the warmth from before return. Yet, Sayori found herself grateful that she no longer felt as fearful of Goro. It was not enough to completely restore her original views of him, but it would be enough for now. She was confident in her relationship with him.

Meanwhile, Goro was beginning to realize something important. He wasn't alone anymore, because he had Sayori. Even though it was barely anything at this point, he did have a connection to the Phantom Thieves, and he knew that it would grow. Whether he liked it or not, Sayori wouldn't let him be alone, and she would ensure that his relationship with the Phantom Thieves would grow. She _wanted_ him, and maybe they would too… So he was wanted.

And getting his revenge would definitely not be easy.

Goro had to think about how he felt about this, and Sayori had to think about how she felt about her now known relationship with an assassin. As if sensing this, the two looked at each other for a second, before Goro slowly stood up.

"I… I'll see you in the morning," Goro said, forcing a smile onto his face.

"Y-Yeah. I'll see you too," Sayori replied, forcing a smile of her own. Once again, the silence stretched on for a few seconds, before Goro abruptly turned around and headed to his room.

As the door slid shut, both felt as though one barrier had just come down between them. It was small, but it was something, and eventually, they would tear down many more barriers. They didn't know it, but both of them felt that it would be a price they would gladly pay for the love they shared.

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this new chapter. I ended up writing a lot more events than I expected, and these chapters keep getting longer. I'm really happy about it, but I guess it's kind of official that weekly updates are a thing of the past. Anyway, I wasn't sure about including this last scene with Sayori and Goro, but I kind of figured I should have cute fluffy scenes before poop hits the propeller, so to speak. As many of you may agree, the Okumura Palace is not very good, so more so than in other arcs, we'll be focusing much less on it and more on character stuff, so please look forward to future chapters. As always, please read and review. I'll see you next time!**


	50. Chapter 49

**I own nothing. Monika does.**

The next day, Akira led a small search for Haru in Shujin. They had hoped she would be easy to find, since they knew exactly who to look for. Yet somehow, Haru managed to completely avoid them for most of the day. Clearly, Haru was looking out for them just as much as they were for her. Makoto could only guess that the elusive "Beauty Thief" was good at avoiding people after years of constantly being surrounded by them.

It was probably great luck on Akira's part that he managed to find Haru near the end of the day. Or perhaps it was because Haru's commitment to her garden was greater than her concern of being found. Whatever the reason, Akira sent a quick message in the group chat to let everyone know he had found the elusive girl. They had all agreed earlier to not set her on alert, so they decided to arrive two people at a time. Making Haru feel cornered would probably not help the situation at all, especially if they wanted to reach a point where they could cooperate.

" _Sayori is coming first with Makoto… Hopefully that won't completely backfire…"_ Akira thought to himself nervously as he walked to stand behind her and a cart full of heavy looking sacks that she was trying to push forward. The boy cleared his throat politely, and Haru immediately took notice, whipping around to face him.

The only sign Haru gave that she recognized him were her eyes widening. It was over in a blink, as she quickly offered him a polite, oblivious smile. "I'm sorry. I'll be out of your way soon enough, so you can run along…" The girl pulled on a strand of poofy hair, letting it spring back up, and then bent down to attempt to push her cart once again, releasing a few grunts as she did so. Akira watched for a few moments, knowing it would be a good idea to help or not. Of course, it would be the right thing, and would give him a chance to improve her opinion of him… But what if she tried to leave?

Akira deliberated over this for a couple seconds before Haru suddenly stood up straight once again. She gave the cart a resigned look, before turning to Akira once again. "I do not mean to be rude, but could you leave? I'm not going to be able to wheel this away quickly enough…" Haru looked down sheepishly, before beginning to turn and return to her work.

"I could help you push it?" Akira suggested. "I bet I could help you move these bags a lot more quickly."

"Why…" Haru seemed to be struggling with what to say. However, she knew that Akira was waiting for an answer, so she looked up at his forehead earnestly, not able to meet his eyes as she said the first words that came to mind. "Why would I ask a stranger for help?"

"Stranger?" Akira asked, confused, when a shout suddenly interrupted them.

"Haru! Haruuu!" A familiar energetic voice said, which caused both of them to whip their heads in the direction of the school entrance. There they could see Sayori, who was shouting the girl's name and waving one of her arms in the air. She would have waved both, if her other hand hadn't been dragging along a deeply embarrassed Makoto, who was holding her free hand up to her face in a clear face palm.

Haru felt herself begin to tense, as she looked over and realized Akira had pieced together what she had meant earlier. Even more distressing was that she noticed in the corner of her eye that Sayori was advancing quickly, marching through the soft, damp ground in bright pink and yellow polka dotted rain boots. As the beginnings of panic set in, Haru wondered if Sayori wore such childish, cute things ironically. Shaking off the thought, she began to politely excuse herself until Akira gave her an unimpressed look. Haru quickly put together why. They all knew that even if she miraculously developed the strength to push her cart and escape the situation, Sayori would chase after her.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I forgot… You don't like it when I shout…" Sayori face-palmed as well, giving Makoto a break from being embarrassed at her friend's behavior. Haru idly took note of a red splotch on Makoto's forehead, where her palm had no doubt made contact many times. She was about to comment on it, when Sayori bounded up to her with a huge, expectant smile. "Can we talk about yesterday, if you don't mind?"

Haru didn't say anything, looking at the ground nervously, and Sayori began to worry if she had really messed up this time. She really needed to remember that her outside voice wasn't always best used outside. As she opened her mouth to apologize, Akira pulled her aside and whispered to both her and Makoto.

"She's pretending that she doesn't know us… I found her here, trying to move that cart." He nodded his head at said cart, before ending the whispered conversation. He watched as their eyes widened in understanding of the situation. Soon after, Makoto pursed her lips, clearly not happy with the charade that Haru was playing. Sayori, meanwhile, now had a much smaller, mischievous look as she began to scheme. Akira smirked.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Sayori asked him gleefully, to which Akira nodded. Makoto looked confused, but shrugged. She was too used to Sayori's antics to do anything else than just go along with it and hope for the best. Besides, she knew the bubbly girl was much better suited for situations like this than she was, herself.

Sayori walked up to stand beside Haru, who was attempting to tiptoe away from the group. "So my friend says you need help moving that?" Sayori asked curiously. Haru jumped to attention, looking back at the three warily. The enthusiastic girl continued to smile, pretending to be as oblivious as she could be. "Have we met before? It could be my imagination… But either way I would like to help you." As if to prove her intentions, she walked over and nudged the cart, surprising Haru as the cart rolled across the ground as if it hadn't previously been stuck in a mud patch.

"Where do you want this moved?" Akira asked casually, and Haru decided to chance pointing towards the middle of the garden. Perhaps if they were playing along with her charade, they would eventually stop bothering her.

Makoto watched the situation unfold, wondering how Haru had complied so easily. Her only guess was that Haru had mistakenly believed that if she went with the flow, she could turn the situation in her favor. Makoto knew better though. Akira and Sayori tag teaming would be an almost boastful display of charm. As the brunette watched, she quickly sent a text in the group chat to make sure Ann and Ryuji would be there soon. Only seconds later her phone chimed to let her know they were almost there. Makoto sighed in relief, before looking up to see how the situation had progressed.

Akira and Sayori were currently volleying the conversation between the two of them, telling Haru things about themselves that she clearly already knew from their trip to Hawaii. As such, she had realized it was a good opportunity to stop paying attention to the good natured conversation. The two began to receive answers from Haru without her even stopping to think about it.

Suddenly, Makoto received a new text on her phone, and looked up from it just in time for Akira to wink at her and pretend that he definitely wasn't the one who had sent it. The girl shrugged and rolled her eyes before opening the new message.

" _Ask Haru about Morgana… But don't be too obvious_ ," it said. Makoto thought about it for a moment before taking a few steps closer to the group.

"My friend's cat went missing recently," Makoto said, giving Haru a calm smile. "Do you think you've seen him?"

Just as Haru gave a slight nod, and as her brain was beginning to catch up with her body, Ann and Ryuji came walking through the doors. They looked around for a few moments, unsure of where to go, until Sayori eagerly waved them over.

"Huh?" Haru noticed them arriving and immediately realized that she had been tricked. "How dastardly! You lead me into a false sense of security… Like a bunch of swindlers!"

"Well, we aren't strangers anymore," Sayori said cheerily. "Sooo… Can you tell us where you've seen Morgana?"

Haru released a groan that almost sounded like a whine. "He said to just pretend like I don't know you guys! I'm so ashamed! I messed up our operation again…"

"We've all messed up at some point or another," Ann commented, walking up to the group with a confident stride. "Isn't that right, Ryuji?"

"... Guess so…" Ryuji mumbled, looking down at the ground with his hands buried in his pockets.

"Yeah, I messed up really badly when I first joined," Makoto said with an embarrassed smile.

"And that just made me think…" Sayori piped up, "That you could be an even better Beauty Thief if you learned from our mistakes."

Haru suddenly looked up at the group in suspicion. "What are you trying to say?"

"We should team up," Akira said simply. Haru looked at him, mouth agape. How could he be so blunt as if she would agree to it so easily?

"I don't believe that would be wise. It's clear from what I saw yesterday that all of you don't get along with Morgana. And if I want to learn from your mistakes, I can just have Morgana tell me," Haru gave a huff in annoyance, as she crossed her arms.

"Fine. We don't hafta team up," Ryuji begrudgingly agreed. The others looked ready to argue, until Ryuji shook his head. "Can we at least meet him. I gotta say something important to him…"

"No," Haru said firmly. She left no room for further discussion as she stormed away, leaving the Phantom Thieves in the dust.

"Wait! Haru!" Sayori cried out, looking ready to chase after her. Before she could, Ann grabbed her hand to keep her in place, and shook her head sadly.

"What should we try next?" Ryuji asked as he sent an update to Futaba and Yusuke that talking to Haru had been a failure.

"We'll have to wait for another opportunity," Makoto said with a shrug. "We need a situation where both of them are already there… I'd say the Palace, but that seems too dangerous."

"We'll figure it out," Akira said, trying his best to sound nonchalant about the whole situation.

"Yeah… Next time we'll find out more too," Sayori said. They had been so busy pretending not to know each other that they hadn't been able to find the opportunity to ask her an important question.

Why did Haru become a Phantom Thief in the first place?

* * *

Haru entered her home with her head knelt down, clenching her fists in frustration. Only recently had she stopped becoming numb to her misery, but now it only caused her trouble. It was so hard to keep a calm face as she looked at her father, who never seemed to look at her. Even now, he was so busy with his phone call to greet her…

"If it is such a problem, then tell him not to come near my office anymore. I can always call him if I need something, so I don't see why this is such an issue… What do you mean he has to come near my building? I didn't schedule anything!" The man rubbed the bridge of his nose as he listened to whatever the person on the other end of the phone had to say. After a few seconds of silence, he nodded calmly. "Yes, that should work. I'm done, so you can do what you want."

"I'm home, Father," Haru said after the silence had stretched on.

"Drive them away… That's right. Make it a priority," the man said, before hanging up the phone. "I finally get a foothold into politics and this happens. Phantom Thieves?" He huffed in annoyance, before turning to Haru. "Did the media ask you anything?" he asked her.

Haru reached into her skirt pocket and grasped an envelope tucked safely away. Technically, the media hadn't given it to her… "No, not from the media, but I got a message!" She hadn't read it yet, but it seemed to burn her hand with the urgency she felt that it had.

Okumura stepped over and snatched it out of her hand, looking at the fancy signature on the back of it quickly before releasing a frustrated growl. "Ignorant… This isn't a game!" He crushed the message into a ball and chucked it into a trash bin near the entrance of the living room.

Haru watched it sail over her shoulder, cringing as it landed effortlessly in. "I apologize, Father. I was told that it was urgent that I get it to you."

"Don't pay any attention. He may pretend not to be, but he's the worst of the crowd he comes from!" Okumura seemed vehement about this fact, and Haru gave him a small nod.

"Anyway, what's this about Phantom Thieves?" Haru asked.

Her father sighed, looking incredibly frustrated as he put his head in his hands. "It seems I'm ranked first on the forum of these so-called Phantom Thieves."

Haru pretended to be surprised as she straightened her back and widened her eyes. "Is it because of the news coverage?"

"It's jealousy of the successful," Okumura corrected, a stern frown staining his features. "Nothing but the barks of the masses who lack the resolve to sacrifice what's needed for their well-being. Both the young and the old are overjoyed with some foolish idols. This country has no future."

Haru felt frustrated, herself. Her father was so dismissive, despite the fact that the Phantom Thieves had not failed to deliver their promise to steal corrupt hearts. She had no plans to either. "What if they do exist? What if these Phantom Thieves really can steal hearts?"

"Are you still having doubts about me?" Okumura asked, the stern expression on his face now showing in his voice.

Haru took a breath to calm herself, knowing very well that she had to resist any urge she had to talk to him about her own vows to change him. So instead she looked down and shook her head. "No…"

Okumura nodded, before delving into the subject Haru dreaded most. "More importantly, I hope things are going well with that young man."

"Yes, Father," Haru responded, wanting to return to her room as fast as her legs could carry her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her father gave her a smile, though it barely held any warmth.

"Very well then… He may not seem like it, but he's still the son of an influential politician. Be cordial with him. He'll eventually become a necessary connection for this company-or rather, for me."

Haru put her hands behind her back, able to feel her nails digging into her palms, and mumbled, "I understand. I will do the best I can."

Okumura, her father, stood up, smiling once again. Haru couldn't bear to look at it. That smile had tricked her into agreeing to this, just because she wanted to see it more. "Good," the man said. "That's how a daughter of Okumura should be."

All of a sudden, the conversation was over. Okumura turned away from his daughter and got his phone back out. Haru silently looked up to make sure he was sufficiently distracted, before turning to leave the room. On her way out, she kneeled by the trash can and grabbed the crushed letter, before swiftly walking up to her room where Morgana would be waiting.

"How was school?" Morgana asked, before noticing the paper in Haru's hand. "What's that?"

Haru put the ball of paper on her desk and began to try to delicately smooth it out. "School was… alright, and I'm not sure what this is yet."

Morgana nodded, hopping up to her desk and flicking on the table top lamp with his front paw. He used his head to nudge the lamp over the partially unwrinkled paper. "Did you run into them?"

"Yes, and pretending not to know them didn't work. Or maybe I'm just bad at it…" Haru replied, feeling ashamed. "I _feel_ bad… They didn't deserve that treatment." She had finally managed to get the letter out of it's crumbled state, though it was still wrinkled. Running a hand over it, the girl began to think thoughts she'd rather not have.

Sayori had been so nice to her during the trip, when Haru had thought that having a roommate would be an uncomfortable experience. She had thought any roommate she might have would only want to treat that as an opportunity to use her, but Sayori had been kind. The girl probably hadn't even been aware of who Haru was, but even when she found out in the Palace, Sayori hadn't treated her as anything else than a friend. That was true of the rest of her teammates too. They had played along today, even though they probably hadn't gotten anything useful out of it.

"Morgana, they wanted to team up… Maybe it would be helpful if we worked something out?" Haru asked.

The cat shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea. Besides, just from looking at you, I can tell that you don't want to team up with them either."

Haru paused in the middle of opening the letter, knowing the cat was right. Though she liked Sayori and her friends, Haru couldn't avoid the harsh feelings she'd had ever since that trip to Hawaii. She squeezed her eyes shut as she gripped the letter tightly in her hands, envy burning her up inside just from the memory of seeing them all. Listening to Sayori talk to Goro Akechi, and watching all of her friends as they enjoyed each other's company… How would she ever be focused enough to change her father's heart if she worked with them? Also…

 _I don't want to be stuck with him…_ Haru thought, her mouth settling into a thin, determined line. Sayori had her detective prince, and the Phantom Thieves all had each other. Even though Morgana was a good friend to have, it didn't fix the fact that she was stuck with an absolute terror of a man to call her partner.

"You're right, Morgana," Haru finally said. The cat smiled sympathetically and walked closer, settling down by the forgotten letter and nudging it. Haru smiled and put a hand on Morgana's head. He resisted at first, but after a few seconds he did allow himself to be pet.

"Let's see what's in that letter," Morgana said, and Haru couldn't agree more. She carefully sliced open the top and pulled out an intricately folded piece of paper. With a bit of delicate handling, the two had it unfolded and began to examine what it says.

"This was intended for my father…" Haru said after a moment, as tension crawled out from her spine and into her entire body. "This sounds… serious."

"It's almost threatening," Morgana added, his eyes squinting as he read the words.

Haru shook her head quickly. "No… No, it couldn't be a threat. It's… a warning."

Morgana looked doubtful for a moment, before shaking his head and smiling. "That's probably it. I mean… Why would Goro Akechi threaten your father?" Still, he couldn't help but feel worried as he thought of Sayori.

"He asked me to meet with him the other day. This was probably why…" Haru reasoned. "Afterall, my father is at the top of the list for people to watch for changes of heart." She read the words aloud, becoming more certain in her thoughts. "Listen when I say that you aren't safe in this position. You need to come up with a new course of action to avoid an incident…"

"That must be what he wanted to discuss with you," Morgana agreed. "He wanted to come up with something to stop the Phantom Thieves."

"Or catch them," Haru added, sighing and shaking her head. "Well, if that is the case then I can't go see him. Then we could get caught!" She took the letter and put it back into the envelope. She debated for a few moments, before throwing it into her trash bin.

"Unless you're feeling particularly daring, that's for the best," Morgana agreed. "Let's try to forget about it for now and focus on our objective."

"Yeah," Haru stretched, letting out a loud yawn. "And get some rest for our Mementos mission tomorrow."

Morgana laughed, walking onto the bed and settling down on the side of it. "Right!"

The two settled in for bed, though Haru found it hard to get comfortable. The letter was sitting in her trash, and Haru stared at it from across the room. The possibility of it being both a threat and a warning echoed in her mind, and she couldn't help but think to herself, " _If it is a warning, why was Father so determined to ignore it?"_

* * *

Goro walked into the police station on high alert, scanning every face for Sae. Quite a while had passed since they had been able to sit down and talk, and with the recent encounter with Yaguchi, the detective knew he had to check on her. Sae and Yaguchi had a close friendship, and Goro knew that Sae trusted Yaguchi more than most people. If the man said that it would be a good idea to get involved with Shido's campaign, then the detective knew he would have no chance to convince the woman otherwise.

 _That's not even taking into account how dangerously close she is to losing herself all on her own…_ Goro thought. Most conversations they had been having lately had been about work. Specifically, they were always talking about catching the Phantom Thieves, and Sae had become more and more obsessed with it… And the supposed "promotion" Yaguchi could offer her could be too much to pass up.

 _Do you really have so little faith in her? She's supposed to be a friend, isn't she?_ He asked himself, before shaking his head. Sae was a coworker, and possibly his only hope if he ever wanted to back out. He had been having so many doubts lately…

"Akechi-kun, you took your time…" Sae suddenly called out to him, and Goro couldn't help but perk up. He snapped his head in her direction and rushed over. The woman seemed to find this amusing and chuckled, earning a confused look from the detective.

"What's so funny?" He asked, tilting his head.

Sae looked taken aback, as if she had just been caught, before looking down and shaking her head. "Not much, really. You've seemed distracted from your work recently, so it's good to see you so eager… Even if you were late…" She added as an afterthought.

"Oh… It's nothing really," Goro said with a shrug, finding himself disappointed. "Let's find somewhere to discuss our recent findings on our case."

"Somewhere?" Sae asked. "We always go to the office area, so let's go there." The woman turned to leave, and the detective hesitantly cut in front of her.

"I was thinking that we could make use of a change of scenery," he replied as casually as possible. If he was going to get results, they shouldn't be in a place where they could get interrupted. "I was thinking… We could go outside? The roof is lovely this time of year, I'm sure!"

Sae frowned. "At this time of year, it's sure to be windy and cold. Any evidence could be blown away."

Goro felt himself growing irritated, and released a heavy sigh. "Sae-san, to put it frankly… What evidence do we have that could be blown away? We've already looked at the calling cards, and…" He lowered his voice, "What we have of Wakaba Isshiki's research, and any other lightweight evidence I can think of… So can we please go?"

Sae glowered at him, but the detective only raised a single eyebrow. He knew he was right. At this point, any evidence that he hadn't told Sae, he was keeping to himself. It was selfish, but any incriminating evidence he did have also incriminated Sayori, and himself to an extent, so he was keeping it to himself. As for Sae, there were very few pieces of evidence she could even obtain at this point.

"Fine. But we're making it quick," Sae answered. "And we're not going on the roof."

"Ah, I'm glad," Goro replied with a smile, thankful for the meeting. "I figured if I was going to convince you to go somewhere else, it would have to be close to the station. The roof was the only thing that came to mind."

"We'll meet in the alley beside it," Sae stated, gesturing her head to the right. "Since you're so stubborn about it being private." Without another work, the woman took harsh steps towards the front door of the station.

Goro breathed a sigh of relief, before quickly following. He calculated in his mind what he should say. But that was a hard decision, even after he had thought about it for so many sleepless days and nights. How much should he give away? He was in the alleyway too soon, though, and the only thought that came to mind was to ease the subject of Yaguchi into a normal conversation.

"How is your investigation going, Sae-san?" Goro began.

Sae raised her eyebrow, clearly unimpressed, before going into a detailed report about something that was actually not important to the case. But Sae was talking about it animatedly, as if this clue could actually lead them somewhere, so Goro nodded along and pretended to be intrigued. It could be seen as an important clue, if he didn't already know it that it wasn't, afterall.

"How is your investigation into Matsu going?" Sae asked after she finished.

Goro was surprised at that. Sae hadn't been interested in anything to do with Sayori for a long time. Perhaps she just felt as if it was a courtesy at this point. He was starting to think so himself, as he shook his head and a heavy frown fell on his face. "It isn't."

Sae nodded, having expected that. "I've been thinking for a while now that it's pointless to try, Akechi-kun. You should have found her family in the first month, if it were possible."

Goro gritted his teeth and shook his head. He thought that at times, too. However, his only lead was a bunch of letters from someone who clearly knew more about Sayori than him. It was possibly the best lead he could hope to have, and it was telling him to be patient. So he wasn't worrying about finding her home right now. He was more worried about keeping her safe while she was staying with him.

And right now he was worried about Sae. He looked up at her and said, very harshly, "I am not giving up yet, Sae. It's just that right now, I believe that there's a bigger threat…"

Sae nodded, as if she understood, thinking that he was referring to the Phantom Thieves. "Yes, that makes sense. I have confidence that we can catch them soon, though. If they end up actually going after Okumura."

"That's not what I'm talking about, Sae." He felt himself choking on the rest of his words as Sae looked at him. What he was going to say next was something she wouldn't want to hear.

"What are you talking about? Catching the Phantom Thieves is what matters right now," Sae began, a stern expression suggesting she was about to begin a lecture.

"We can't develop tunnel vision! While we've been working on this Phantom Thief business, I have noticed a lot of problems surrounding us. And I'm not talking about the 'society is corrupted' message these criminals are trying to send us!"

The words escaped him in a massive, unstoppable wave. Goro didn't even realize his mistake until he heard a throat clear behind him. Sae looked up as he turned around, coming to meet Yaguchi's cold eyes.

"You guys should be inside," the man said, and Goro felt himself sink. Was this when the thin ice he's skating on finally breaks?

"In a second," Sae replied. "Akechi-kun and I just want to finish our conversation." She turned her attention back to the boy, an impatient look on her face. "What do you mean when you talk about these problems that aren't connected to the Phantom Thieves' message?"

"I mean…" Goro began, acutely aware of the spy that was practically breathing down his neck. "I mean that there are problems in how the police are approaching things. There are a lot of crimes that the Phantom Thieves have brought to light…" He didn't know how to continue. Already, he was contradicting what he said earlier. " _There are dangerous people causing problems around_ us, _specifically_ , is what he wished he could say, along with many other things, but he couldn't in this situation.

Sae, however, seemed to take the message he did send the wrong way. "What are you saying?" She asked, an angry scowl forming on her face.

Goro felt himself descend into panicked confusion as he reviewed what he just said. However, before he could save the situation, Yaguchi stepped forward with his own opinion.

"I think it's clear that the boy just revealed who he is actually supporting in this conflict," the man explained, walking over to Sae's side, who seemed even more furious than before.

"What? No! That's not it at all!" Goro shouted, his mind in a frenzy as his words were twisted. That wasn't how he had thought his words would be taken, and Sae already looked angry enough that she wouldn't listen to any explanation he could give.

"These criminals do one thing that benefits you, and suddenly you're on their side!" Sae raged. "You're as weak-minded as everyone else!" She stomped past both of them and went back into the station. They heard grumbled of wasted time and useless detectives, before the door was slammed shut.

"That was quite an event," Yaguchi commented, a smug smirk on his face.

"Yeah, I hope my performance was believable enough for you," Goro said, trying to keep himself calm as he came up with a lie on the spot.

"Oh? What's this now?" the man in front of him said with a raised eyebrow.

"Now that Sae is angry with me, you can convert her to your cause more easily."

Yaguchi didn't seem to believe it, but one look at the calm, unreadable face the young detective now had on made the man shake his head. "I'm saving that for after Okumura is dead, of course."

"Of course," Goro Akechi said, beginning to talk in monotone. Yaguchi left, and the boy sat down, leaning his head against the wall. He almost wished that it would rain, just so that he could find a reason to go back inside.

* * *

The next day, in the evening, the Phantom Thieves were all waiting in Mementos in hopes of encountering Mona and Beauty Thief. They set up base at the entrance, and began the long process of waiting for the cat and his new companion to arrive. Oracle had brought the snacks she had said she would bring, opening a bag of chips and handing one to Valiant. The black clad thief had been ambitious to bring a neck pillow for everyone. Sadly, her cheerful demeanor didn't do anything to lighten the atmosphere.

"You're going to apologize when Mona comes, all right?" Panther asked sternly, looking pointedly at Skull.

"I know already!" Skull snapped, banging his fist on the wall he was leaning against. He had already agreed to it, so he didn't get why they had to keep reminding him. He already felt guilty enough.

"I have to apologize too…" Valiant pointed out, before looking down sadly. "I have to make up for it too. So there's no reason to get on Skull's case right now, because I think it's going to be a lot harder for me to make it up."

"For real? You really think that?" Skull asked, looking at the girl in shock. "Listen, Mona and I were the ones getting into fights. I was a jerk, but him yellin' at you was definitely not right for him to do!"

"Yeah," Panther insisted. "You have nothing to make up for!"

Valiant smiled at them, before looking down and shaking her head sadly. "Thanks, guys. But Oracle can testify when I say that I definitely have stuff to make up for." _And much more than that…_

"Yup," Oracle nodded, causing the two blondes to look at her in confusion. "It's going to take a few days before we can even do that, though. There's a timer on it, right?"

Valiant nodded. "Before we worry about that, let's focus on our stakeout."

Queen took that as an opportunity to get back on topic. "We need to be careful around Beauty Thief, too."

"Yes. Judging by what you told me about the other day, she will definitely not want to talk to us," Fox remarked, before looking around at the area they were staying in. "It truly is a shame that we have to do our stakeout here. There's nothing here of interest."

"We've got snacks," Valiant pointed to Oracle, but the orange haired girl snapped her chip bag back.

"He still hasn't learned his lesson that food takes value over art stuff. No handouts for Inari!" Oracle shouted.

Fox scoffed. "The labelling is atrocious anyway."

Joker looked at his team and sighed. "This is a stakeout… Which means we need to be here because if they do come to Mementos, they'll have to come through here."

"Exactly," Queen said, before sending a stern glare at Valiant, Oracle, and Fox. "So we should be quiet, and not fight over snacks."

The three separated, each resuming their previous vigilant looks from before. Everyone else did the same, trying to keep a sharp eye out for Mona. However, after a while, the stakeout began to devolve, with the Phantom Thieves forming groups of three that rotated every ten minutes. While Joker, Queen, and Oracle kept watch, the others would let their attention drift slightly. Valiant wrote in her notebook, Fox would try to find anything interesting to observe, and Panther and Skull would engage themselves in rock-paper-scissors, thumb wars, and things of that nature. They would then switch, with Futaba taking a nap, Queen planning strategies and doing complicated math problems, and Joker going through what personas he had on hand. They repeated this cycle for nearly two hours, with no sign of Mona and Beauty Thief.

"Ain't he gonna show up today? I mean, what time is it now?" Skull asked with a groan, leaning his head back.

Fox noticed movement in the corner of his eye and whipped his head around. "Hold that thought." Everyone looked up to see the Mona and Beauty Thief just entering through the gates, turning to look at the group in alarm.

"You guys are seriously slacking off way too much!" The cat snapped with a frustrated tone. Everyone looked at their relaxed state, with the empty snack containers and soda cans, and a few littered magazines, and especially the neck pillows, and began to feel incredibly embarrassed.

"Do you have business with us?" Beauty Thief asked, though she already knew the answer.

"Aren't you fulfilling the requests on the Phantom Aficionado Website? Even leaving comments?" Queen asked, cutting straight to the chase. "It'd be best if you don't accept them so recklessly."

"The police will track you down in no time. If that were to happen, we'd be caught up in it as well," Fox explained.

"And we needed to come to an agreement!" Valiant exclaimed. "We can't just get in some stupid race over who gets Okumura's heart first, so we need to decide what we all want to do!"

"I did not intend for there to be any problems with the police!" Beauty Thief exclaimed, before grimacing. "But… That would be my fault… I'm actually not that great with machines… I'm truly sorry." The girl bowed, and Mona looked at her in alarm.

"Why're you apologizing?" The cat asked, becoming agitated.

"Yeah, you don't need to apologize. We were just warning you about that!" Valiant clarified, before clasping her hands together and bowing herself. "Besides, we're the ones who need to apologize."

"Won't you please put what happened behind us?" Queen asked sincerely.

Mona averted his gaze from the group and crossed his arms. "So I'm the one you're here for?" He seemed to brighten up as he looked at them. "You guys need me after all? Is that it?"

"Please come back," Joker said, his face serious as he took a step forward.

"Eh… I guess we could still use you," Skull said as he stood up.

"Ryuji!" Panther hissed, looking at him angrily.

Valiant looked at Mona in fear, glad to see that he didn't seem to hear what Skull had said, or was pretending not to. "I'm really sorry, Mona. Please believe us when we say that we never meant to hurt you!" She begged, falling to her knees in sorrow.

"We are sorry, Morgana. We weren't taking your feelings into consideration at all," Panther said, putting a hand on Valiant's shoulder and getting her to stand up.

"Lady Ann…" Morgana looked touched by the apology, and gave the blonde a smile.

"E-Everyone, shouldn't you be using codenames?" Beauty Thief asked, looking around nervously for any Shadows.

"Ryuji didn't mean what he said, you know? He wants to apologize…" Panther said, giving Skull a look to convey that it was his turn to take over.

"Well, it's like… It was my bad too," he began, wishing he could crawl into a hole and die. _This apology sucks!_ He groaned, trying to put into words what he probably needed to say. In the corner of his vision, he could see everyone giving him an expectant look, and Valiant giving him a reassuring smile. "And… I mean… I don't mind if you're not a-"

"Skull…" Valiant cleared her throat and stood beside him, giving him a gentle push. "That's not really a good way to start an apology."

"Well, what should I-" He began to shout, until he noticed Panther glaring at him. He quickly realized that this was not at all what he wanted to do. _Still, this is embarrassing!_

"What he means to say," Valiant began, "Is that he is sorry for what _he_ did wrong." She gave Ryuji a calm smile, but she could tell the blond was still holding onto his pride. But that was expected. Morgana was holding onto his too. _This feels so familiar… I'm back in the club room all over again!_

"Yeah… What she said. I'm sorry I called you useless," Skull said, rubbing the back of his neck and avoiding eye contact with the cat. "Actually, scratch that. I'm sorry I made you _feel_ useless. I thought you could take me sayin' those things… But I guess that kind of stuff can wear anyone down after awhile."

Morgana crossed his arms and looked at the floor, frowning in thought. "That's better than I expected it to be…" Everyone seemed to relax at that. "But still… I doubt things are going to change."

Everyone looked at each other in panic, until Sayori stepped forward. "Things are going to change… Starting with me! I'm going to tell them, Morgana! I swear I am. I don't want to lie to you guys about that anymore...:"

Morgana looked at the girl in shock, before turning to Futaba and raising a suspicious eyebrow. The ginger haired girl gave him a wide grin and a thumbs up. He turned back to Sayori again, who was nervously clasping her hands together. But he could tell it wasn't just nerves. She looked terrified. A wave of guilt crashed into Morgana, and he suddenly felt the need to apologize too. He had been a brat to not take into consideration what Sayori had been feeling.

"Mona?" Haru asked shyly, wondering if their plans were going to change. She still had her fears about working together with everyone, but Morgana was her friend, and something needed to be done to help him.

"Maybe… We can meet up somewhere tomorrow to talk more about this?" Morgana said begrudgingly.

"Yes!" Akira instantly agreed. "Just name the place and time and we're there!"

"Good… I think I still need some distance from you guys," the cat said. "No offense."

"None taken," Yusuke replied, and everyone nodded in agreement.

"I hope we can arrive at a fair compromise!" Haru exclaimed happily, kneeling down to hug Morgana. Even though doubts and fears still permeated her mind, there was a positive energy in the room that she hadn't expected.

By chance, she looked at the Phantom Thieves and noticed something… rather odd. There was a green patch of… something that peeked out from the collar of Sayori's black coat. Haru blinked, and the colorful patch was gone.

"So we'll see both of you tomorrow at Leblanc?" Akira asked for confirmation, and Haru snapped back to the conversation.

"Yes… That should be good," Haru agreed.

With that settled, everyone began their goodbyes. They had decided to exit separately to give Morgana the room he needed. Haru noticed on their way out that Morgana looked much happier than she had ever seen him. It made her smile as they headed towards their exit point.

* * *

Of course, like always, Haru's happiness was short lived. She and Morgana had been talking about what they would want to say when they met with the Phantom Thieves, when _he_ had to come and interrupt. Sugimura shattered her calm and peace once again, and Haru couldn't help but feel terrified.

 _What did I do to deserve this?_ She thought to herself hopelessly as her fiancée

grabbed her by the arm and made those same leering comments at her that he always did.

"Can't you do that for me?" Sugimura asked, squeezing her arm harder than before.

"Ow!" Haru yelped, drawing the attention of Morgana, who came rushing back.

"Haru!" The cat yelled in concern, before glaring at Sugimura with all the rage of a cat forced into water. "You little- Let go of Haru!" Morgana leapt and clung onto the leg of the man's pants, digging his claws in as deep as they would go, forcing past layers of fabric and directly into skin. The reaction was immediate, as Sugimura let go of Haru's arm and began shaking his leg harshly.

"Goddamn cat!" Sugimura yelled, giving one final kick and sending Morgana flying into the wall of a building. Morgana moaned as his head felt incredibly fuzzy, pain drowning out Haru's concerned cry for him.

"Dammit… I really am… useless at this rate," Morgana whimpered, his pain filled mind coming to a conclusion on what he would tell everyone when they met at Leblanc tomorrow… if he would even be able to go to that meeting. He heard Sugimura come closer, annoyed by the continued meowing a small-brained bastard like him would hear. With no other hope to save Haru and himself, Morgana began to cry out for help.

Haru felt tears trail down her face as her body trembled in place. Her brain was telling her to stand in between Sugimura and her friend, but her legs remained locked in place, too afraid for her own wellbeing. But she didn't have long to worry about her friend's safety, as Sugimura came and grabbed her arm and began tugging her out of the alley. Thankfully, she was still rooted in her spot, and tugged back. _I can't abandon Morgana!_

"Okumura-san!" A familiar voice suddenly shouted. Haru turned her head slightly and saw the Phantom Thieves, in their plain clothes, run up to them.

Sayori and Futaba looked over and saw Morgana slumped by the alley walls. Futaba ran over and knelt beside him, checking to see if he was alright.

"What the hell are you doing to our friend?" Ryuji yelled, his form tensed, looking ready to leap forward and tackle the fancily dressed man.

Sayori wrinkled her nose as if she smelled something foul. "Please leave, sir… Before this gets ugly."

Sugimura let go of Haru's arm, letting a smirk slide onto his face. "Sorry about the disturbance. It's just a… lover's quarrel with my fiancée."

"Fian- What? But she's clearly fighting you!" Ann shouted, looking over to Haru. The girl looked away, with a shame on her face that broke everyone's heart.

"Leave," Sayori said, her expression neutral as she stepped forward slightly. "We need to take care of our friends, and you're only being a nuisance."

"Brave words," Sugimura said with a leer. "I thought that somebody like you would have a lot more situational awareness. After all, a piece of arm candy for a hated, useless waste of a detective should be more aware of what's going on around them, for their own safety."

"What the hell?!" Ryuji shouted, beginning to run forward, only to be held back by a stern looking Akira. "A piece of shit like you needs to learn when to shut up, for the sake of their own effin' teeth!"

Sugimura paid no attention to Ryuji's threat, turning to Haru and scowling. "How dare you make a fool of me. I'll be telling your father about this too." He turned to face the rest of the group, only to jump back slightly when he saw Sayori right in front of him, flashing him a toothy grin.

"Hey, I had a thought when you said that to me, earlier. If I'm a piece of arm candy, what kind would I be?" Sayori asked, before her hand reached out and gripped Sugimura's wrist in a vice-like grip. "I'm thinking, that right now… I really feel like a jawbreaker…" She said, her voice turning very cold as her smile disappeared. Everyone looked at her in alarm, her friends shivering as they could practically feel the ice in her stare.

"Hey… don't touch my friends… Don't speak to them… Don't even look at them," Sayori whispered, before releasing Sugimura's wrist. The man pulled it back and rubbed it carefully, feeling as though he had been stung. "And I implore you… Don't speak about me like that again. He may seem useless to you, but believe me when I say that he'd make you regret it if he heard the trash that just came out of your mouth."

Sugimura growled and straightened his suit, pretending to brush some dust off of his shoulder as he avoided looking at the group. "I won't forget your faces," He said, turning around and storming off.

"Are you OK?" Ann asked Haru. She looked over at Akira, who went over to Sayori, who was still looking in Sugimura's direction with an eerily calm face. He lightly tapped her on the shoulder, which snapped her back to reality as she whipped her head around to look at him. Akira jumped back slightly, watching as Sayori's eyes went from him, to Haru, and finally to Morgana.

"I'm fine," Haru managed to say with a shake of her head. "But Mona-chan-"

Morgana managed to stand up. "This is nothing…"

"That was not nothing!" Sayori cried. Futaba nodded her head in agreement, reaching over and patting Morgana on the back supportingly.

"Was that person really your fiancée?" Makoto asked Haru. Haru nodded, causing everyone to look at her in horrified shock.

"Whoa, so you're engaged then?" Futaba asked.

When Haru nodded again, Sayori suddenly looked down, her expression pained. "How long have you been engaged with that horrible man?"

"Awhile," Haru replied, unable to say anymore.

"That definitely didn't seem like an ordinary fight," Ann commented, looking away in thought. After a few moments, her head tilted back in a silent anger. "Shouldn't you talk to your parents about it?"

Haru and Morgana both looked at the ground in sorrow. "I think it'd be useless," Haru began, shaking her head. "I'll just be told to beg for his forgiveness, even if it means grovelling on the ground…" She wiped at her face, feeling the beginnings of tears streaming down her face.

"Haru… I'm so sorry," Sayori whispered. Haru must have been in pain for so long… How was Okumura only getting put on the Phantom Thieves' radar now? _It could be a trap… I'm almost sure it is. Would Haru only have continued to suffer in silence if it hadn't been lain?_

"It seems she has her reasons." Yusuke commented, looking away from Haru's tears in an effort to be polite. In his head, it made sense that Haru might not want to be seen crying.

Morgana suddenly got everyone's attention. "Would you let Haru rest for a while?" He asked Akira. The boy nodded.

"Of course. We'll take her to your place, yeah?" Ryuji asked, looking at Akira.

Akira nodded once again. "On the bright side… Maybe we can have that meeting a little early?"

Morgana felt himself relax, even though the thought of what he knew he should do entered his mind. "Yeah… Thanks."

* * *

By the time Haru woke up, Morgana had already explained what he felt he needed to say to everyone. He had to admit, it felt nice to talk to them, even though he knew he didn't belong with team. Still, by the way everyone seemed happy to have him back, he hoped that they could all remain friends.

"I'm sorry… I fell asleep…" Haru said with a yawn and a stretch.

Makoto ignored the apology, only concerned for the girl's wellbeing. "Did you get enough rest?"

Haru gave a small nod, before looking over at Morgana. "Mona-chan?" She asked, noticing how sad he now looked.

Morgana let out a sad sigh. "Anyway, it's just as I told you a moment ago. I can't have you guys risk your lives anymore for someone useless like me. To be frank, there's no assurance that I'll turn back into a human either…" He shook his head, feeling as if he had made a fool of himself. "This can't be called a fair deal. That's why I think we should split up."

"Morgana… None of us care about that, more than we care about you," Sayori pointed out, frowning at him in worry. Morgana shook his head again, knowing she was only saying that to make him feel better.

"Besides," Yusuke cut in, thinking of another method of getting a response from the cat. "Who said we're acting as Phantom Thieves for your sake? I'm doing it to expand my horizons."

Morgana looked at the blue haired artist irritably. "No need to tiptoe around the situation," he said sarcastically yet sternly. "We're splitting up," he stated, looking at the rest of the Phantom Thieves.

Haru looked at him for a moment before shaking her head with a fond smile. She picked him up and hugged him against her. "You should stop lying. Do you remember what you said to me when I found you collapsed in the Metaverse?" Morgana looked up at her but gave no response. "That you're a Phantom Thief. That you're going to get stronger and have the others acknowledge you." She hugged him even tighter and the cat struggled a bit in shock. "You love being here, don't you? This is where you belong, not in my big fancy home where my father would never approve of me taking care of you."

Morgana hopped out of Haru's tight hug quickly, feeling embarrassed and prideful. "O-of course not…"

Haru gazed at him somberly. "I was lying to myself too, but when I formed a contract with my Persona… I understood it all. Doing this because my father is doing something horrible… was nothing but a superficial reason."

Haru looked down, feeling ashamed, yet somehow not sorry at all. "The truth is, I-"

"Don't want to get married, right?" Ann asked, not at all surprised. None of them would want to be married to such a creep either.

"You don't have to have any reason other than that for wanting to change your father's heart, Haru," Sayori said. "The other things that he's doing are horrid, but you don't have to use that as a reason, because it's you who wants to change him, not one of his abused coworkers or something like that."

Haru smiled at the two girls, before nodding her head. "I thought that since an adult with responsibilities was making the decision to marry me off, it couldn't be wrong. I was such a fool, tied down by vague notions and stayed quiet as my marriage partner was chosen…" She shook her head, a determined line forming on her mouth. "But I won't tolerate this anymore." She looked up and yelled with all of her might.

"I can't stand that creep!" She was surprised by the power of her own voice and took a deep breath. "That's how I truly feel." She looked down at Morgana, waiting for him to do the same.

"Wh-Why're you looking at me all of a sudden?" Morgana asked, a stunned smile on his face.

"Mona-chan, why is it that you always talked about becoming human again?" Haru asked. Everyone turned to look at him as he looked down and considered his answer.

"That's…" Morgana frowned, deciding that he was going to be truthful about his feelings too. If Haru could do it, then so could he. "At first, I only thought of this team as a temporary team until I regained my memories. But I wasn't making any progress on finding out what I am or why I was born…"

"Morgana…" Ann sighed.

Sayori smiled sadly at him. Though she couldn't say it out loud without raising questions from everyone else and making the conversation about her, she could definitely relate to that frustration of not making any progress on something like that.

"I wanted a reason of my own-a reason to stay with the Phantom Thieves. I don't have anyone I want to save or get revenge on. Someone like me has no reason to stay here…"

"Then make your own reason," Sayori said, causing Morgana to look up at her curiously. "I might also be here because I feel like it's a responsibility, but the main reason I stay is become I'm really happy to be with all of you. There are other ways to help people, after all… That are a lot less risky for me. But you guys make the risks worth it. So there doesn't have to be any reason other than that you want to, Morgana. You should be with people that make you happy…"

Morgana suddenly felt shy and looked away. "To me… This team is…"

"Come on, say it! You can do it!" Ann encouraged. Everyone nodded in agreement, watching as Morgana looked ready to burst.

He finally couldn't seem to hold it in any longer. "It's the only place I can belong! I want to stay here forever!" Morgana yelled, smiling at all of them.

Sayori smiled at the admission, before the word _forever_ registered in her own head, sticking fast to her brain like a bug on a windshield.

"That was refreshingly honest," Yusuke commented.

"You shoulda just said so from the start! Geez!" Ryuji shouted with a huge grin. Most of the girls gave him a dirty look, to which he waved his hands defensively. "Sorry, sorry…"

"If you stick with me, there's no telling what kind of trouble will come up!" Morgana warned, even though he was smiling. "You better be sure about this!"

"I'm in all the way!" Sayori shouted happily, raising her arm as though she were in the middle of class.

"It's a little late for all of that, don't you think?" Ann asked Morgana. "Of course we're all in! We want to stay with you too!"

Morgana blushed in embarrassment. "Uhh, so… well… I'm sorry I worried you guys. This is where I belong! My mind's all set! I'll make sure to work hard to pay my dues. It's too late to cancel our deal, got it?"

"Let's do it together," Akira agreed.

"We're re-forming our give-and-take deal," Morgana declared.

After a few moments of silence, Morgana suddenly became serious once again. "Speaking of…" He looked at Sayori. "I meant what I said, earlier. I don't want any of you risking your lives for me. So you don't have to say anything, Sayori…"

Everyone else but Sayori and Futaba looked confused at his statement. "What does that mean?" Makoto asked in concern, before looking over at her friend. "Sayori?"

"Like you said earlier, Morgana. I have to work hard to pay my dues, too," Sayori said with a shake of her head. "I would just tell them right now, but they would never believe me unless I showed all of them first."

"You don't have to! It's your secret!" Morgana shouted.

Sayori frowned and gave him a stern look. "Well, from now on it's the Phantom Thieves' secret!"

"What are you talking about, Sayori?" Akira asked, clearly concerned as well.

"You'll see soon enough," Sayori promised, before looking at everyone in earnest. "Has everyone agreed that we're stealing Okumura's heart?"

Everyone looked at each other and considered. After a few seconds, everyone gave her nods and said "Yes" or some other form of confirmation.

Sayori smiled, though the thought of it being a trap lingered in the back of her mind. "That's… good. But I'd like to request that we not go into the Palace or Mementos at all for the next few days. Let's just leave the Metaverse alone, for now."

"Why?" Akira asked, before Sayori shook her head. He groaned. "Fine… Then for how long?"

"I'll let you know…" Sayori mumbled, before looking at her phone and noticing the time. "We should all get going. The trains are about to close."

"Shit! You're right!" Ryuji exclaimed, before dashing down the stairs. "See ya later, guys!"

Everyone else also departed. Haru was too worried about going home, so Futaba offered to make arrangements for her to stay the night at Sojiro's house. Haru happily agreed and followed the ginger-haired girl out of Akira's room.

Sayori was one of the last to go, smiling as Akira and Morgana both looked at each other. When she was at the bottom of the stairs, she heard the faint voice of Morgana telling Akira to go to bed and chuckled. She stepped out the door and began running to the subway. Her phone began to vibrate and ring, a piano tune letting her know that Goro was calling her. Sayori quickly took her phone out and was about to answer, before she hesitantly stopped her finger from stabbing the green answer button. Instead, she pressed the "answer with text" button, and sent a quick message to let Goro know she was on her way.

She sighed sadly to herself as her phone vibrated some more, probably with confused messages from the detective, wondering why she hadn't just answered. Sayori ignored them and caught the last train right before it closed. In the midst of the crowded train car, she tuned out the voices of all the faceless figures around her, as confusion swirled in her mind. Words like _trap… traitor… black mask…_ and finally _forever…_ clouded her as she waited for the subway to stop. _What am I going to do?_ She wondered, though another answer soon came to her in the motherly voice of Psyche, though now she sounded just as tired as she was.

 _Observe, learn, and react._

* * *

Things moved fast in the next few days. The same day Haru went home after spending the night, she came back, bringing awful news. If they didn't change her father's heart by the tenth of October, she would be going to live with her fiance. Upon learning that, everyone had turned to Sayori in concern, but she assured them that they wouldn't need to stay out of the Metaverse for more than a week. With that settled, everyone did their best to relax, though the uneasy feeling of what would happen to Haru if they failed to help Haru with in their new allotted time limit kept them all on edge.

For Sayori, it was even more difficult to tolerate. Every day when she woke up, she was reminded that this was most likely a trap. Backing out wasn't an option anymore, for Haru's sake. All Sayori could do was back up her team, and be careful around her roommate. That was another worry she had. Goro was involved in the trap somehow. At the very least he must know about it, and at the most, he was going to do something terrible, as a result of the Phantom Thieves stepping into that trap. What that something was, Sayori was terrified to find out.

 _He's been so distant… and sad…_ Sayori thought to herself as she walked to Leblanc. Goro seemed to be having trouble talking with her, and he walked around as if he was worried about being ambushed. Though that should be expected of someone that the public hated more and more, Sayori couldn't help but think he was scared of something else.

 _Maybe I should talk to someone about what I should do?_ Sayori wondered, pushing open the doors to Leblanc. She was going to keep Goro's secret, because she had her own secrets to worry about anyway. Not to mention, no matter how much the evidence kept piling up, Sayori wanted it to all be speculation. So maybe she would talk to someone about what she should do in response to the actions he actually allowed her to see? _And there's also the idea of confronting him…_

"What's gotten you so worked up, Sayori?" Morgana asked, flicking his tail and hopping off of the bar table at the front of the cafe.

Sayori opened her mouth to answer, but before she could, Sojiro entered the store with an armload of groceries from his house. "You here to pet sit?" He asked, and Sayori nodded, mouthing "later" to Morgana/

"Well, go ahead and do it upstairs. Morgana ran off, probably because Akira keeps carrying him around in his bag. The cat probably thinks he's free to go wherever he wants because of that…" Sojiro complained with a shake of his head.

"That's not going to stop Akira, though," Sayori pointed out, causing Sojiro to sigh. The girl smiled over at Mona and ran up the stairs to Akira's room, shouting "come on!" to which the cat obliged.

Sayori took a seat on the floor and got out her notebook, scribbling down the first few words of her newest poem. Morgana watched in silence for a few seconds before walking up and leaning his head against her leg.

"So… Go ahead and spill," Morgana said casually, causing Sayori to glance at him in confusion. "What were you thinking so hard about when you came in?"

Sayori frowned and shook her head, though Morgana looking up at her sadly caused her to give in almost immediately. "I guess… I'm just worried."

"Yeah, I'd be worried too if I were about to risk my life and glitch out of existence for a few seconds, just to provide evidence to a bunch of teens," Morgana muttered, releasing a sigh. "I still don't think you should have to go through with it. Why did Futaba have to make you promise?" He whined, causing Sayori to chuckle.

"I'm more afraid of that then worried," Sayori admitted. "It's happened to me enough times that I know showing it to you guys will only carry the same amount of risk as going to a dependable dentist. It's probably going to be painful, but I'm not going to get hurt," she explained.

Morgana nodded, accepting the answer, before his eyes widened in realization. "If you're not worried about that, then what are you worried about?"

Sayori thought about the best way to explain it, shutting her eyes tightly as she processed what words she could possibly say. After a few moments, she looked down at the cat and smiled. "I guess I'm worried about what's going to happen when we steal Okumura's heart. We might be going up against the culprit behind the mental shutdowns, after all. I think it's actually a trap, to be honest…" Sayori sighed and let her head fall into her knees.

"Yeah, but we still have to do it," Morgana replied. "I think everyone's worried about it." The cat looked at Sayori, who was so far unassured by his words. He thought for a moment about what else he could say, before his eyes brightened a bit as he remembered a way to distract Sayori. "Hey, did you know that Akechi wanted to have a meeting with Okumura the other day?"

"He what?!" Sayori yelled, barely avoiding being loud enough to alert Sojiro, who was still sorting new cafe supplies downstairs. "How do you know?"

"He gave Haru a letter that he wanted her to deliver to Okumura, but the letter was rejected and thrown away. Haru fished it out and we read it together," Morgana's ears flattened against his head as he remembered what it said. "I think Akechi has the same idea as you… That this is a trap. The letter said, 'Listen when I say that you aren't safe in this position. You need to come up with a new course of action to avoid an incident…'"

Sayori's eyes widened as she heard what Morgana said. As always, she wanted to avoid jumping to conclusions, so she managed to whisper, "What do you think he means?" to Morgana.

"I honestly don't know. At first, Haru and I were afraid that Akechi was threatening Okumura, and then we realized it sounded a lot more like a warning. We originally thought it was a warning about the Phantom Thieves, since he's always so obsessed with finding us when he has live interviews, but now I'm starting to think differently," The cat explained. "After all, he lives with you. Maybe you got the idea from him…"

Sayori snorted, remembering the phone call she had overheard that had given her the idea. _That's one way of putting it…_ She frantically shook her head when she saw that Morgana was looking at her weirdly. "I think that's definitely possible…" _But that means that he could be warning Okumura about what he's about to do, himself. Could that mean…?_ Sayori suddenly felt her heart pick up speed as a giddiness erupted inside her. She let out a small giggle, and Morgana's fuzzy face began to smile at her,

"That's more like it! Let's do something with that energy!" Morgana shouted, and Sayori eagerly stood up with a nod. The cat hopped into the girl's bag. "Let's go out to eat and have some fun!"

"Yeah!" Sayori cheered, running down the stairs. "If Akira comes back let him know I'm out with Morgana!" She shouted quickly to Sojiro, who could barely blink before Sayori was across the room and out the door.

Sojiro shook his head with a fond smile. _Hyper as always… She'll miss when Akechi stops by._

* * *

Sayori took Morgana to a good sushi bar that day. They had a lot of fun together, and Sayori felt much better going home that evening. She was giddy with the thought that maybe she could actually convince Goro to stop whatever it was that he was doing. Still, that didn't stop a pit from growing in her stomach when she remembered how little time she actually had to do that. Not to mention, he had definitely seen her and her friends go into the Metaverse, so whenever she was home too early, he seemed to get even more nervous. After all, in the days leading up to a change of heart, Sayori was always home late. The obvious change was obviously rattling the detective, and Sayori worried that he wouldn't listen if she tried to say anything to him.

For the rest of the week, after school, Sayori would spend almost the entire evening with her friends. She went shopping with Ann, the blonde more eager than ever to find cute outfits for Sayori. They also found a few items to send to Shiho for her birthday, much to Ann's delight. The day after that, Sayori was with Futaba, marathoning through the ginger-haired girl's favorite horror/romance/adventure/true-crime visual novel.

"Why is the blood blue?" Sayori had asked.

"Artistic choice," Futaba had replied, finding the word for a clue in a crossword puzzle.

The next day, Sayori spent time with Makoto, studying in the park. Makoto didn't really feel like studying at home with her sister around, so Sayori got a bunch of snacks and the two studied for their upcoming tests until the sun was too low in the sky for them to read. After that, Sayori spent an afternoon with Yusuke, looking at random graffiti in the city and stopping occasionally to people-watch. That experience left Sayori with the subjective knowledge of the difference between graffiti and plain vandalism.

The next evening, which Sayori would later consider the most difficult, she spent exercising with Ryuji. They were back at the park again, and by the end, Sayori decided to stand on the side and shout encouraging words as Ryuji ran circles around her. If it weren't for the much worse alternative, Sayori would have regretted dropping gym class. Still, Ryuji did claim that gym class "meant jack" in comparison to his training sessions that he had with Akira, along with the book Sayori had gifted to him.

On the day afterwards, Sayori finally had the opportunity to spend some time with Haru again, brightening her up quite a bit. Sayori wished she had found the time earlier, but Haru had been looking for a good opportunity as well. Finally, she had found one, and let Sayori know to meet her at one of the Big Bang Burgers closest to Shujin.

Sayori sat down and didn't order anything, while Haru simply got an iced sweet tea. The two sat for a while, not saying anything, until Haru finally decided to start a conversation by asking about something she had been curious about ever since Sayori had announced it.

"I only just joined… Are you sure you want to tell your secret, whatever it is, to me?" The girl asked, her tone of voice shy.

"Definitely. It would make things a lot easier if everyone on the team knew it anyway. I need to get one secret off of my chest, at least," Sayori replied, looking down with a sigh. This caught Haru's interest.

"What do you mean by 'at least?'" Haru inquired, taking a sip of her tea.

Sayori raised her eyebrow and then winked. "The others wouldn't be a secret if I told you, Haru. A girl has got to have some…" Haru seemed disappointed, so Sayori hesitantly added, "Besides, they are very personal. I think you can understand not wanting to tell anyone those kinds of secrets."

Haru nodded with a frown. "Yes, I know that… Probably better than anyone else. Sugimura is…"

"Trash?" Sayori asked innocently, to which Haru nodded.

"Exactly. To be honest, I kind of regret not being able to see you beat him up the other night. Though, even more so, I regret not doing it myself," Haru put down her drink and pushed it away, suddenly feeling even more sad than she had felt in a while.

Sayori noticed and reached over to pat Haru lightly on the shoulder. "Chin up, Haru. After we change your father's heart, you'll have the opportunity to dump him, and humiliate him for being such an awful person to you!"

Haru cracked a smile at that, unable to stop herself from looking very enthusiastic at the thought. "Do you really think so?"

"Yup!" Sayori chirped, before Haru giggled to herself, as if she was laughing at a funny memory. "What is it? Do I have something on my face?" Sayori rubbed at her cheek, before quickly putting her hand back down as Haru shook her head.

"No… I actually thought of a secret of my own to tell you, Sayori," Haru replied cheerfully. The girl's looked at each other for a moment, before Sayori tilted her head and Haru leaned over to her ear. Very softly, she said, "I was jealous of you… because I admired your relationship…"

"You were jealous of me?" Sayori asked quietly, her eyes widening in shock. Haru nodded sheepishly, and Sayori giggled in response. "I would normally say there's nothing to be jealous of, because I have my own relationship issues. But considering what you've been put through, I can see where you're coming from."

Haru nodded once again, before laughing. "I think that's an issue of the past now, or at least I'm hoping it will be. One thing you can be jealous of Sayori, is that if you ever break up with Akechi, you're probably going to be very sad." Haru's grin then turned almost wicked. " But not me. I'm definitely going to enjoy the day I get to break up with Sugimaru. In fact, I'll host a party, with cake and balloons, and streamers. You're all invited."

Sayori laughed loudly at that, causing several people in the restaurant to stare at her. Sayori calmed down quickly and grinned. "I accept the invitation. And in exchange for telling me your secret, I'll tell you one of mine."

Haru leaned in eagerly, and Sayori whispered in her ear a very quick, "I'm depressed," before quickly sitting back down. Haru looked over at the girl in shock and concern, until she noticed that Sayori didn't seem too bothered by the fact, and was even smiling a little.

Haru smiled back. "That wasn't really a secret, to be honest, Sayori. You may not act like it, but I did put that together at some point after we met." Haru shook her head and scoffed. "What's more of a shock to me is that you don't go to therapy for it…"

Sayori rubbed the back of her hair sheepishly. "Well, it's not really my secret to tell, but…" Sayori let her voice drop down to a whisper once again, and Haru leaned in slightly to hear better. "Goro has a lot of his own issues, and I get the feeling that he would already have been going to therapy himself if the idea could even cross his mind."

"Well…" Haru trailed off, looking away in slight discomfort. After a few seconds, she looked back up again with a slightly forced smile. "That definitely is a lot, so I won't pry. Still, I'm amazed you're doing so well, Sayori."

Sayori averted her eyes and smiled guiltily. "Well, that's also a lot to unpack, because it's a strange thing for me. I don't really know how to describe it, but right before I… moved in with Goro, I was… messed with. I was suddenly more depressed than I had ever been, and I had a lot of dangerous thoughts. Before that, I had learned to cope with the depression I did have, because I had been dealing with it…" Sayori wanted to say "since I was a kid" but instead had to say, "for as long as I could remember."

"That's very strange…" Haru pondered, before looking up at Sayori skeptically. "It sounds almost unbelievable."

"Well, believe it," Sayori replied with a smile. "Anyway, the Phantom Thieves stole my heart, and that sudden, high amount of depression, if you will, with it. That's how I ended up joining them."

"I see," Haru said, looking down in guilt. "It still sounds unbelievable, but you are with the Phantom Thieves now. So, I guess I have no choice but to believe it."

Sayori shrugged. "Honestly, I don't really know what to think about it. If it were anyone else, though, I would definitely tell them to get therapy." The girl looked off into the distance. The knowledge that this was a game that she was in made her feel wary of who could be listening.

The two finished their evening together. After leaving the restaurant, Haru gave Sayori a light hug, and Sayori suddenly felt very jealous. Haru's sweater was so _soft_. Sayori hugged the girl back, and the two departed.

Finally, on the next day, Sayori went to the planetarium with Akira. It was relatively normal, and Sayori spent what little money she had left of her allowance that week on a plastic cup for Akira, which came from the gift shop. Akira gave her a long bookmark that had all of the planets and their details printed on it.

"I've noticed something these past few days," Akira remarked as he walked her to the subways. Sayori glanced at him before looking away as the ebony-haired boy drilled holes into her head with her eyes. "I figured it out when I noticed everyone was too busy to hang out with me because 'I'm busy hanging out with Sayori.'"

Sayori cringed, before replying, in the calmest voice she could manage, "So, what of it? I… I'm not trying to keep our friends to myself. You know that, right?"

"I know," Akira confirmed. "I also know that you're avoiding your apartment."

Sayori cringed at the accusation, only confirming Akira's suspicions. He paused and turned around to face her, pinning her down with his stare so she couldn't avoid looking at him. "Why?"

Sayori grimaced and closed her eyes, not wanting to be confronted now of all times. After a few seconds to calm herself down, she opened her eyes and stared firmly into Akira's eyes, her mouth set in a determined line. "Let me clear a few things up first. I'm not avoiding the apartment because of me being abused or mistreated, or anything like that. Goro has never touched me in such a way and I trust him enough to know that he wouldn't do that to me."

Akira nodded, accepting that statement as fact. "So, why are you avoiding it, then?"

"Because I'm always out late before we change someone's heart," Sayori spoke softly, so only Akira could hear. "I don't want him to get suspicious if that suddenly seems to change. Also… he's seemed stressed lately. It felt right to give him space, because I don't want to smother him."

Akira smirked at that. "He loves it when you give him attention, though. He comes to Leblanc a lot Sayori. Sometimes he speaks to Sojiro, sometimes to me, and a few times to Futaba. But it's obvious to everyone that he adores you."

Sayori couldn't stop a smile from spreading across her face. "Yeah… I know," she said with a small giggle.

"Well then you should spend time with him, then," Akira said, a lecturing tone in his voice. "As your leader, this is an order. Invite him to hang out with all of us tomorrow. Soon enough, you're going to tell all of us that super important secret. Then after that, we're going to be busting our backs to steal Okumura's heart. So let's all spend time together."

Sayori smiled, nodding her head happily. "That sounds good. I have an idea for what we could do, actually. Could we all go to the garden that Haru takes care of tomorrow?"

Akira nodded, and Sayori grinned. "Perfect! I'll text all of you guys the details on my ride home." With that, the girl turned around just as a subway rolled into the station and came to a stop. A set of doors opened right in front of her. Sayori stepped inside and waved goodbye to Akira. He gave a small, two-fingered salute back. The girl stuck her tongue out at him just as the subway doors closed, and the leader only laughed and waited for his stop to come.

* * *

The next day, Goro was being practically dragged to Shujin, with Sayori tugging him along. She gave him a giddy smile, and he managed to form a small smile on his face that looked natural. He knew where they were going, but he still couldn't process it, even as he was dragged to a large green patch of vegetation, with the rest of the members of the Phantom Thieves all waiting.

Sayori released him when they were skirting around the edge of the garden, and Goro took that moment to compose himself. After a few moments, he gave each of the Thieves a once over before smiling at Sayori. "So these are the members of the gardening club you've been going to?"

"Yes!" Sayori said excitedly. She thought for a second, before pointing to Yusuke. "He comes to watch, and sometimes sketch. And she…" Sayori pointed to Futaba, "is here because Boss said she needs to get more fresh air."

The detective easily ignored the cringes that several of the Phantom Thieves made at such a bad excuse. Sayori was a much better liar than before, and the fact that she was even putting this scheme into motion was proof! After all, the hardest thing about telling a lie is remembering all of the details. _I feel an odd sense of pride. Good job, Sayori…_

"Well, I hope we can all get along just as well as we did at the beach," Goro said, before leaning down to take a closer look at the plants in the garden. "These are beautiful. You all are doing a very good job!"

"No need to be a kiss-up," Ryuji replied with a cocky grin, just as Haru smiled at the compliment.

"So what exactly did Sayori tell you we would be doing?" Makoto asked, looking nervous. She had never done any kind of gardening before, and she didn't want the detective to catch them in a lie.

"None of us are dressed for gardening," Haru claimed, even though most of them had come out wearing their red jacket and pants. She soon realized this and blushed in embarrassment. "I mean, you definitely aren't, Akechi-san."

"I suppose you are right," the detective replied, looking down at his most casual of casual wear, his blue sweater. He noticed out of his eye that Makoto seemed to relax. "But please, don't let me impede your work." The girl tensed up again and Goro resisted the strong urge to laugh.

"Yes," Yusuke agreed, sitting on a patch of soft grass. "Don't let us interrupt." He got out a sketch pad and looked at the scene before him, frowning. The biggest error in Sayori's fib was the part about Yusuke coming here regularly to sketch, because there was almost no inspiration to be found from what he had seen so far. Everyone was just standing around awkwardly!

"Let's get started everyone!" Sayori encouraged, and Haru nodded in agreement. Makoto looked at the garden patch in worry, hoping that she wouldn't ruin all of Haru's hard work. Before she could question things too deeply, a small trowel and a pair of gloves.

Before long, the Shujin students were each put into their own small areas of the garden to work. They were the relatively untouched parts, in order to relieve some of the concern over ruining Haru's space. While everyone began to work on planting things that probably wouldn't bloom in time before winter, Haru began to pluck out all of the weeds that had grown since she had last checked on her garden.

 _Will I be able to come here if I get sold off?_ Haru wondered to herself, before casting a sideways glance at Goro Akechi. The detective was currently keeping a light hold on a package of seeds that Sayori had nearly spilled earlier. Every few moments, Sayori would reach out behind her and make a grabbing motion, and the detective somehow managed to pour exactly one seed into her waiting hand. Haru watched the two working in tandem for a bit, before trailing over everyone else. Makoto was digging small holes in a neat row, which Ann would then fill with previously potted plants. Ryuji was the one taking them out of the small plastic containers, managing to be careful enough not to break them.

In the corner, Yusuke had finally managed to find something to sketch, now that everyone was working so hard. Futaba was looking up random plant facts, and telling them to anyone who was interested enough to listen. The girl seemed to enjoy the various reactions she would get, especially when Makoto or Ann looked nearly sick due to a particularly gross one.

"You seem to be appreciating the help," Akira commented, sitting beside Haru and observing which plants she was yanking out, before copying the motions she was using. "Thanks for going along with this idea, by the way. Sayori gave Akechi the 'gardening club' excuse a long time ago."

"Sooner or later, he would have wanted to see proof. And we're a team now," Haru replied. Morgana poked his head out of Akira's bag and smiled, and Haru managed to grin slightly, patting the cat affectionately on the head.

"I'm… surprised, honestly," Akira said with a grimace. Haru looked at him in concern, waiting for him to continue. "I've been wondering for a while now why he's never asked to come to this gardening club Sayori made up. She already volunteers at the school library, and she had to get a permission slip for that…"

"But there wouldn't be a slip for a gardening club she was never a part of," Haru finished. Akira nodded, looking down in frustration at these odd contradictions.

"There's something odd about that detective," Morgana agreed, before looking at Haru. "Now would probably be the best time to ask him about that note."

"Note?" Akira asked, only for Haru to shake her head at him.

"I'll tell you later. Could you finish up with these? Don't pick out any of the purple plants, or the ones with two round leaves," Haru instructed, before rising to her feet and walking over to the detective.

"Hi, Haru," Sayori said, causing Goro to look up at her as well. Haru gave a small wave, before sitting next to the two.

"You'll want to put two of these seeds together," Haru pointed out as she noticed they were starting on a new packet of flowers. Sayori nodded, beginning to dig up the holes she had previously made and adding the other seed.

"Is there anything else to add?" Goro asked politely.

"Yes… I was wondering if you could tell me why you wanted me to meet with you the other night… And also, about that note. My father threw it away as soon as he saw it was from you. He didn't even read it. I wanted to apologize for that," Haru said, taking note of the pained grimace on the detective's face.

"I figured that out a few nights ago," he said, sounding incredibly weary. On top of Yaguchi reporting his conversation with Sae, which took a lot of slick words and excuses to escape discovery itself, Okumura had also reported that Goro had been trying to contact him beyond what was necessary for a hitman.

Haru did her best to hide her concern over the detective's tone, though Sayori noticeably froze and turned her attention to him. "I am sorry that you did not get the meeting you were seeking. Though, can you tell me why you wanted to meet with me? Did it have anything to do with the message in that letter?"

"So I'm assuming you read it?" Haru nodded, causing the detective to sigh tiredly. "Well, after investigating some of the things Okumura has been doing, after he had been voted to the top of the Phantom Thieves' poll, I found out about those disturbing connections between cases of mental shutdowns and Okumura himself… Sooner or later, I believe he is going to be targeted by one group. I wanted to find out any information I could about him. So I decided to ask you for an interview, and also resorted to the unprofessional message in that letter."

"I see," Haru replied, absorbing all of the confusing information.

"Goro. I… I need another one," Sayori mumbled hesitantly, facing the detective. The detective blushed in embarrassment, before going back to helping her.

Haru went back to her spot next to Akira, unable to come up with any words as she tried to process the explanation she had been given. It didn't make sense, yet she knew it was believable enough to be true.

Everyone spent the next two hours working diligently in the garden. There were a few points when everyone switched what they were doing, and Yusuke managed to make three colorless sketches in that time. It was mainly composition practice, so he wasn't really worried about color. Futaba had downloaded a few gardening games on her phone, and played with them until she got bored. She then pulled on her jacket's hood and took a nap in the grass, enjoying the warm sun.

Unfortunately, evening closed in very fast, and everyone knew they would need to leave for their homes. It was during the time they spent putting away all the gardening tools that everyone seemed to pick up on what would have been obvious if they had seen it earlier. Goro had decided to go back to the apartment ahead of all of them, and Sayori was in the middle of saying goodbye.

"I'm glad you had fun," Sayori said with a happy smile. The detective smiled back before pulling the girl into a hug.

"Yes… It makes me relieved that the club seems safe. I assume those scrapes and bumps you keep getting are simply due to your own clumsiness," Goro teased, causing Sayori to frown and begin whining.

"I'm not that clumsy! It's just really easy to trip in the middle of a bunch of loose dirt, and the tools are really slippery…" Sayori trailed off as the detective chuckled.

"Of course that's what you'd say. Let me guess… It's easier to work when the sun is setting, which is why you're always home late. Also, you're always so worn out because gardening is so hard?"

"Exactly!" Sayori said with a pout, before kissing the detective on the cheek. Everyone glanced at each other as they continued to flirt and tease. Finally, the detective stretched his arms and turned around, waving goodbye to the group behind him.

When they were all sure the detective could no longer hear any of them, Makoto was the first to bring it up. "Do you think he knows?"

"Yeah. It's pretty obvious," Akira replied nonchalantly, causing Sayori to turn around and stare at them in shock.

"Huh?" Sayori squeaked, causing everyone to look at her in shock.

"Sayori, you haven't noticed?" Makoto asked, a look of surprise and concern on her face. "I think it's safe to say that he's suspicious that we're the Phantom Thieves." The brunette looked very worried, misinterpreting Sayori's shock as not knowing that Goro knew, when it was really shock that they knew that he knew. But they didn't seem to know that Sayori knew that he knew.

"His teasing was too on the nose, Sayori," Ann pointed out, causing Sayori to suddenly feel very stupid. Why had he decided to do that in front of everyone else? "He pointed out every flaw in your excuse," Ann suddenly looked panicked.

"If Sayori hasn't caught onto the fact that he's suspicious, how much does he know already?" Morgana asked, looking at the group seriously.

"Um… About that…" Sayori began, wanting to clear up the situation a bit more. However, Ryuji was suddenly giving his two-cents.

"Guys, there was something really weird about it!" Ryuji exclaimed. "It's like he wasn't even worried about all of that stuff he said…" Ryuji rubbed his chin in thought. "Is that good or bad?"

"I don't think we can be too certain… But I didn't feel any malicious intent when he said that," Yusuke pondered. "We can't base our conclusions off of a feeling, though."

"Sayori, what do you think?" Akira suddenly asked.

Sayori felt her heart skip a beat as everyone looked at her expectantly. "I don't know for certain… But if he does know that we are the Phantom Thieves, I don't think he's letting the rest of the police in on this secret."

"That's true," Futaba murmured. "The police aren't any closer to catching us than they were when the Phantom Thieves first appeared. At least according to what they've released to the public."

"But there is the fact that Sayori never caught onto his suspicions," Makoto murmured, causing Sayori to tremble slightly, overwhelmed with a sudden burst of shame.

"But we did," Akira pointed out. "That deliberate teasing… Even if it wasn't meant for us, he wasn't even trying to hide the fact that he was onto Sayori."

"Yeah. He may as well have stamped a big sign on his head that said 'I know you're the Phantom Thieves,'" Ann agreed, looking in the direction the detective had left in, her frowning was one of confusion.

"If he wanted to keep it a secret that we're the Thieves so that he could catch us, he wouldn't have said all of those things now," Futaba said, her eyes slowly widening. "Wait… Does this mean…?"

"We can't be certain," Haru murmured, remembering the possible warning that was sitting in her desk drawer. "But this, combined with the warning he was trying to give to my father, makes it possible…"

Sayori felt herself growing stunned. Were they really figuring all of this out from some light teasing? She couldn't believe her ears as they all seemed to be drawing the conclusion she truly wanted to believe in herself.

"He's not telling the police that he knows, but he's giving these hints to us," Makoto concluded. "The best case scenario is that he is on our side…"

"And the worst is that he's scheming to catch us and take all of the credit himself," Yusuke finished. He then glanced at Sayori and cringed. "But I sincerely hope that is not the case for your sake."

"Or he might just be teasing Sayori about something else," Futaba added, more as a joke than anything else. She looked at Sayori with a playful, stern expression. "You don't have any other late night activities that his 'Royal Detective-ness' would disapprove of, right?"

"Wh-What?" Sayori asked with a blush. "Of course not! How would I even have the energy for that sort of thing?'

"You say that now…" Futaba said with a mysterious tone of voice. Sayori looked away from the girl, her face heating up at the accusations.

"I want to believe that if he does know, he's on our side…" Haru began. "I want to believe that he wouldn't betray Sayori, because if not, then my friend might be hurt like I have…" The girl looked down in sorrow, the very thought troubling her. For the short time she had known Sayori, she knew that the girl was friendly and caring, but also seemed very naive. Was Goro Akechi taking advantage of those traits? Haru clenched her fists lightly at the thought, an unfamiliar buzz in the back of her head as she processed that possibility.

"We have to take into account what he has and hasn't said," Akira said suddenly, causing everyone to nod distractedly.

"In interviews, he remains firmly against the Phantom Thieves," Morgana said seriously. "And the things he said just now certainly sounded like he was on our side. But…"

"The only way to be certain is if he said that he was on our side," Sayori whispered, realization lighting up her eyes.

Akira nodded, thinking over this new information. "We'll still let him hang out with us, but we need to walk on eggshells for the time being."

"Yeah!" Ryuji agreed. "Even if he is a prick on TV about us, he is fun to hang out with."

"This benefits us, too," Makoto pointed out. "Cutting off all contact with him would make him suspicious, and he might go back to antagonizing us, if he isn't still doing so. If he is on our side, he'll hopefully come forward, and we can maybe gain an ally."

"But we can't be sure until that happens," Ann said sadly, before looking at Sayori sternly. "Be careful around him at home, Sayori."

Sayori nodded. "I will," she croaked, suddenly feeling very tired. _I really am bad at keeping secrets… Though it wasn't me that said those things… I wonder if he did that on purpose?_

Sayori shook her head, as if she were a wet dog, before looking at everyone. "We should all go home, guys. I'll see you tomorrow." Everyone else said their goodbyes, and Sayori left the school. She probably had the opportunity to catch up with Goro, but she honestly wanted to have some alone time to process everything.

 _Everything is just too much right now…_ And unfortunately, things would not be better in the morning.

* * *

Sayori felt the familiar sensation as she was drinking a small mug of tea. As the sun shone through the window, she barely had time to slam her mug on the coffee table before she glitched. She came back not even a second later, gasping for air and having to support herself using one of the arm chairs. She felt goosebumps rise on her skin as she suddenly couldn't keep tears from spilling from her eyes. The only thing she could be thankful for at the moment was that Goro had left for work long before she had even woken up.

But it was no longer a secret, and the group of people that knew about it was about to get larger. Sayori choked back a sob as she thought of how everyone would react. Was she really still so much of a burden? The thought was large and ugly, and Sayori tried to ease it out of her mind as she grabbed her phone and sent a quick text to Futaba.

" _Tell everyone to meet up in Leblanc's attic."_

Only a few moments later her phone gave a short ring, bringing a response on a wave of anxiety. Sayori stabbed it open and cried harder.

" _Is it time to tell everyone? Are you sure you want to do this?"_

Sayori took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. " _Yes. Tell Akira I'm heading out now."_ A second message a few minutes later confirmed that Futaba had delivered the message. Sayori chugged the rest of her tea, before going to the coat closet in the living room where she kept her clothes. She slipped on a thin jacket over her nightgown, and wore long socks. It looked odd, but the girl wasn't concerned with looking presentable. She slipped on her uniform shoes and left the apartment.

* * *

Everyone gathered in Akira's room, each highly aware of the suddenly foreboding atmosphere in the room. Futaba and Morgana didn't talk with anyone, simply concerned with making sure Sayori was ready. On her request, Morgana stood at the top of the stairs to make sure Sojiro didn't come upstairs if there was a commotion, and Futaba shut and locked the door.

When that was done, Futaba joined almost everyone on the bed, squishing to sit between Ryuji and Ann. Sayori stood in the middle of the room, waiting for everyone to get settled. When they were, and each had a good view of Sayori, the girl looked at all of them and gave a carefully composed smile. "It's probably going to happen soon, so I'm requesting right now that you guys all stay calm. I don't want Boss to come up here after you all start screaming."

"What's gonna happen soon?" Ryuji asked, gritting his teeth in panic. Aside from him, Futaba looked equally frightened, wondering if this one time would be when Sayori vanished and didn't come back. Makoto, Ann, and Haru were all sitting together, a cluster of concern, but did their best to remain calm for their friend's sake. Yusuke did his best to look calm and composed, but he had his hands clasped rather tightly, doing his best to contain the worry and fear where Sayori wouldn't see it. Akira was the only one who managed to calm himself down completely, looking at Sayori expectantly.

The girl sighed, rubbing her hands together nervously. "It's hard to explain without seeing it, and I don't think you guys would believe me without seeing it first hand. So just wait, and you'll see." This was the only option. While they all trusted each other, Sayori had seen Futaba's video evidence, and the glitching she had done on camera could easily be passed off as video editing.

Everyone seemed to accept the explanation, and each began to sit quietly, waiting for whatever it was that Sayori wanted to show them. They each did their best to concentrate, not knowing how long whatever it was would last. Sayori felt herself growing increasingly anxious under their intense gazes, feeling as if she was being interrogated. It was ridiculous to be feeling this way when she had asked for this, but that didn't stop her heart from beating rapidly, and her instincts telling her to run. She supposed it was a good thing that Futaba had locked the door.

After what felt like an eternity, but was actually only around ten minutes, Sayori felt the tight, hiccuping sensation in her throat. She let out a hoarse gasp as a warning, and everyone whose attention had begun to wander immediately went back to watching Sayori. One the outside, the girl was trembling as the breathless sensation spread to her entire body. Goosebumps crawled up her body at an alarming rate. Ann, Makoto, and Haru almost yelled out in concern, thinking the girl was having an allergic reaction or something. Futaba put a calming arm in front of them, and they each held their breath.

Sayori stood there, shivering for a second, and what happened next made everyone jump back in shock. It was hard for them to describe what exactly happened afterwards. The closest anyone came to was Yusuke, shakily whispering, "It was like I blinked, but I was looking right at you."

Sayori gasped and nearly fell to the floor, but Futaba was surprisingly quick. She darted from her spot and let Sayori lean on her, before guiding her to one of the chairs that Akira had in his room. Everyone stared at them in shock, unable to say something in response to what they had just seen. A second later, they heard a scratching on the door, and Morgana yelling to let him in. Nobody reacted for a few long seconds as they watched Futaba hand Sayori a bottle of water, looking at the girl in worry. Finally, Akira stood up and walked slowly towards the door, looking almost as if he were in a trance.

"Sayori," Makoto finally said, her voice coming out as a fearful whimper, "What just happened?" The girl in question looked at Makoto for a few seconds, before turning away and shaking her head, looking just as scared.

"She glitched," Morgana stated, padding into the room and hopping onto Sayori's lap. He looked up in concern at the shaking girl, before turning back to explain what was happening to the group. "That's the best way to describe it, but we aren't really sure what it actually is. Under certain conditions, Sayori just goes… poof!" The cat cringed at his explanation, so Futaba took over.

"Morgana and I are the only ones that knew before you, and that was honestly an accident… But guys, this is seriously bad!" The girl felt herself tear up as she wrapped an arm around Sayori's shoulders, who froze at the sudden affection she was being given. "There's this weird time limit thing with the Metaverse, and we don't know why! I asked the doctor down the street- who was surprisingly chill about it- and… and Sayori might die!" Futaba started to cry, and Sayori felt herself tear up as well, hating herself for letting this happen.

"I-I'm so sorry!" She yelped, beginning to sob and cry.

The rest of the group looked at the group, trying to come to grips with this unbelievable situation. After a few seconds, they slowly stood up and made their way over to her, yet also keeping their distance, wanting to calm the two girls down before they started asking questions.

Eventually, the two girls were only sniffling, and Yusuke offered them a paper towel from the roll on the nearby table. When the two were looking relatively calm, Makoto began to ask about what she remembered from the past week.

"You didn't want us to go into the Metaverse so that you could show us this, so the time limit that Futaba means is that… it resets every time you go in there?" Sayori nodded slightly, causing Makoto to grow concerned. "There were times where we would go weeks without entering the Metaverse once! Do you just wait those times out?"

"It only started a little before we dealt with Futaba's Palace," Sayori explained. "The longer I spend in the Metaverse, the more time I have before I start glitching again. At least, that's what I've figured out so far. After we finished Futaba's Palace, I thought they had stopped, actually… But then…"

"She glitched at the end of our trip to the beach," Futaba continued. "That was when Morgana and I saw it for the first time."

Everyone took that information in, managing to find some relief in that. For now, they knew of a way to treat the symptoms for whatever was happening to Sayori.

"Wait…" Ann began, suddenly reaching out and grabbing onto Sayori's shoulder. "What did you mean when you said that Sayori might die?"

Futaba cringed, beginning to shiver as well when she thought of what Takemi said. When this happened, Morgana took over.

"Well, that is just a theory from Dr. Takemi. But it's based on the fact that the longer Sayori is glitching, the shorter the time is that she's not. The glitching only ever seems to last a second or two at a time, but if she gets to the point where she is here for a really short time…"

"She disappears, and doesn't come back," Akira finished, before glancing at Sayori. The girl looked as if she would rather do that then be faced with this confrontation, but there were still a lot of things she needed to answer to. "How come we never noticed this before?"

Sayori looked down in thought for a few seconds, before smiling up at him nervously. "Well, I don't know if you've ever noticed, Akira, but I was always really good at hiding when I was hurting, right?"

Everyone cringed at the girl's attempt to lighten the mood, causing her to shrink down. "First of all," Akira began, "Don't joke about that ever again, Sayori. And second, you're telling me you've managed to hide this from us ever since it started?"

Sayori nodded. "Remember that time I stayed home from school a little while before we got involved with Futaba?"

"And after that, when you came back to school, you went to the bathroom whenever class ended, and you were always late," Ann said, her eyes widening. "Were you just hiding?"

"Not only then, but also when we went out for sushi that day. You kept excusing yourself," Yusuke said, looking down at the ground. How were they only learning about this now?

"So… we're the only ones that know about this?" Haru asked, watching as Sayori gave a calm nod.

"You haven't told Akechi?" Ann asked, incredulous.

"What could I have told him?!" Sayori cried, hugging her knees to her chest. "If he found out, he would know for sure that I'm a Phantom Thief, and all of you would get in trouble. And… and he's already giving me a safe place to stay, and he protects me, and probably ignores the fact that I'm part of a band of criminals for my sake… And how can I just tell him I could die… I don't want to die anymore! I don't want… him to go through that… To see me like my friend did!" Just the thought of it, her limp, lifeless body… and Goro there, looking at her, when he already lost his mother to that same damn thing!

"Calm down," Haru said calmly, rubbing light circles in the girl's back, trying to quiet her sobs. How Sojiro hadn't come up yet was beyond Haru's comprehension, because her friends desperate and broken cries were the only thing she could hear at all. "Hey, you've told _us._ While I'm not sure I approve, you don't need to tell Goro, because we're here to help with that. He can help you however he already is, and we can all leave it at that."

"You guys… are going to help?" Sayori asked with a sniffle.

"Hell yeah!" Ryuji said. "You just say you need to go to the Metaverse, and boom! We're goin' and stayin' however long you need!"

"If you need to go hide and disappear for a second, then we'll cover for you however we can," Ann added, a reassuring smile on her face.

"Yeah. I'll hold, and Ann will shove the teacher, while you run towards the bathroom," Akira offered, earning himself a light smack on the shoulder from Makoto.

"We won't let anyone know that you don't want to know," Makoto said.

"All the while, we'll look for a more permanent solution to this glitching," Yusuke mused. "We're already looking for Morgana's lost memories by going to the depths of Mementos. If the Metaverse is tied to whatever is happening here, then it must hold the solution as well."

"Yeah!" Futaba shouted. "I'm not letting you die, Sayori! Even if I have to do something crazy, like hack into the Metaverse and and reboot it or who knows what, then I'll do it!"

"You're a Phantom Thief, Sayori," Morgana stated. "And from now on, we're all sticking together!"

Sayori wiped her eyes and smiled tiredly at everyone. They truly were the best of friends, and she was lucky to have them. The weight of one secret lifted off of her chest, and she suddenly felt so much closer with all of them. It was… refreshing, and the girl felt like she could breathe easier.

"In that case, let's go to Okumura's Palace, or Mementos, as soon as we can," Sayori decided. Everyone nodded in agreement before dispersing from their group hug. Akira went to his work table and began to check that they had everything they needed, and everyone checked to make sure they each had the right model weapons. Sayori had sadly forgotten her own backpack, which was full of her own supplies, so they decided to break for lunch and then come back.

 _I really am so thankful for all of them… Now, there's just one more confrontation I know I need to have_ , Sayori thought to herself as she checked her bag. That same hiccupping feeling rose in her chest came again, stealing her away once again. When she came to, she didn't feel nearly as scared as she had in the past.

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I know this is a fanfic, and this probably isn't super needed, but I want to definitely disclaim that you guys shouldn't deal with depression the way Sayori does in this story. Please take care of yourselves! I'm not a professional on any of this stuff, and I don't try to be, so this story definitely isn't an accurate representation of how to deal with depression at all. I decided to write it this way, and I'm sticking with it!**

 **On a much more fun note, how many of you have noticed that we have new cover art? My partner paid to have it commissioned by megat0nraid. Check out their stuff on Twitter! I am really thankful for the work they and my partner did to make this cover art a reality, and it's probably one of the best Christmas presents I've ever gotten! I hope all of you like it too.**

 **Lastly, next chapter is going to be the 50th! I don't have anything special planned for it, but I'm honestly surprised. I'm going to stick through this story to the end, because I love writing it. How many chapters do you guys think the entire fanfic will be? Anyway, please read, review, and I'll see you guys next time!**


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